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THE LIFE OF 

ADMIRAL MAHAN 

NAVAL PHILOSOPHER 

Rear- Admiral United Htates Navv; D.C.L. Oxford; LL.D. Cambridge; 

LL.D. Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Magill and Dartmouth; President of 

THE United States Naval War College ; President of the American 

Historical Association ; etc., etc. 



BY CHARLES CARLISLE TAYLOR 

LATE BRITISH VICE-CONSUL AT NEW YORK 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 

1920 



TO 

AMERICA 

THE LAND 

OF 

BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITY 

THIS WORK 

IS 

GRATEFULLY DEDICATED 



" I will, therefore, in conclusion only say to any of 
you who may not yet have read Captain Mahan's 
books, read them ; to those who have read them, 
read them again ; read them a third time ; for in 
them you will find the best exposition of the blun- 
ders and the glories of our forefathers, the best 
explanation of the influence of Sea Power." 

Professor J. K. Latjghton. 



INTRODUCTION 

This work is the overflow of an English Iieart full of 
admiration for an American who by force of character 
overcame well-nigh insuperable obstacles and, as the 
result of years of strenuous work and skilful applica- 
tion of his superb mental powers, earned for himself 
in the eyes of the world the highest distinction yet 
accorded a naval philosopher. 

My primary motive in undertaking so serious a respon- 
sibility is threefold. I am eager to perpetuate the 
memory of a great American ; and in so doing to bring 
one step nearer together the people of his country and 
of mine ; and at the same time repay, even if in limited 
measure, the debt of gratitude I owe to America for 
priceless opportunities in days gone by. Le temps 
passe, Vamitii reste. I also must pass on, but I should 
like this work to carry a message of lasting friendship 
to the earnest and hospitable people of the great Republic 
of the West. 

Haply, moreover, a word here or there may, like a 
good deed in a naughty world, shine through impending 
gloom and carry a message of hope or comfort, of 
encouragement, inspiration, or good cheer to some soul 
distraught. As a shameless optimist in the throes 
of his first literary effort, the author craves the indul- 
gence of his readers. 

Without the friendly co-operation of the Admiral's 
family, who placed unreservedly at my disposal all the 
correspondence and other available material in their 



viii INTRODUCTION 

possession, this review of the life of Alfred Thayer 
Mahan could not have been written. 

I have striven to make it " a faithful portrait of a 
soul in its adventures through life," resisting the 
while a very natural temptation to mix the colours 
with an over-abundance of rose-water. As research 
and analysis gradually revealed the true character of 
the man, the task became a labour of love. Rarely 
perhaps have been found such commanding gifts of 
intellect allied with so genuine a modesty. 

Mahan has been described as "the greatest writer 
America has yet produced." What is greatness ? 
Webster says that he is great who is " extraordinary in 
genius or accomplishments." Of the vast number who 
aspire to literary fame, few, alas ! become known 
outside the limits of the^little circle in which they move. 
Seldom does an echo of their earnest voices reach 'the 
ears of the listening world. Mahan' s masterpieces not 
only won instant recognition in the navies and among 
the statesmen of all lands, but have for years successfully 
withstood the matured judgment of the most eminent 
authorities in the intellectual hierarchy of the twentieth 
century. In truth a supreme test of " extraordinary 
accomplishment.' ' 

In contradistinction to the lives of many famous 
literary men — such, for instance, as Longfellow or Sir 
Walter Scott — Mahan' s career does not lend itself to 
voluminous biographical treatment. Owing to his 
exceptionally reserved and retiring nature he did not 
seek the personal acquaintance of the interesting and 
distinguished personalities of his day, nor did he cor- 
respond, except to a very limited extent, with leaders 
of thought or makers of history either at home or abroad. 
Among his papers are but few letters suitable for pub- 
lication, other than those which have been herein 
reproduced or referred to. Apart from his writings 
and lectures and a few religious addresses and news- 



INTRODUCTION ix 

paper interviews, he made no public pronouncements 
of significance. For so notable a man his circle of 
associates was remarkably small, even among naval 
officers, and the number of his intimate friends was 
even more limited. With the exception of Admiral 
Sir Bouverie Clark there seems to have been no one 
to whom he freely disclosed his views on matters of 
public moment, and even in his correspondence with 
him Mahan seldom departed from chatty discussion of 
current political events and references to family affairs 
and his own state of health. Few words of serious 
self-revelation seem to have escaped him. 

On account of his innate and intense dislike of pub- 
licity, the incidents of his daily life were not such as 
to furnish material for graphic description ; neither 
did he disclose himself in memorable utterances to 
friend or foe. So far as can be ascertained, he kept no 
diary after the age of twenty-eight, and apparently 
did not to any appreciable extent read current literature 
or comment upon it publicly. Such characteristics do 
not make for that kind of personal popularity which is 
apt to invite the confidences of men of note and bring 
about occurrences worthy of record. Except for a 
brief period in England, his association with men and 
women of distinction was extremely limited ; and even 
there the intercourse was entirely unsought and seem- 
ingly was dropped after his return to America. 

Mahan won the respect of all who knew him well. 
The religious side of his nature was the most pro- 
nounced, and towards the latter part of his life may be 
said to have been an open book from which all might 
read ; but even in this regard he was habitually reti- 
cent. Apart from this religious aspect, the chief interest 
of Mahan' s life for the great mass of humanity centres 
round his three great masterpieces, in which he reveals 
the historic secrets of naval power — a revelation which 
the dramatic incidents of the world-wide conflict, now 



X INTRODUCTION 

happily brought to a victorious close, stamp as one 
of the most momentous in the annals of warfare. 

I gladly avail myself of this welcome opportunity 
to express my sincere and grateful thanks to Mrs. 
Mahan and the members of her family for their invaluable 
and sympathetic assistance, as well as to the Hon. 
Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy ; the Hon. 
William Redfield, late Secretary of Commerce ; the 
Hon. Franklin Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy ; Dr. Edwin Wiley, Librarian of the Naval War 
College, Newport ; Admiral Sims ; the late Mr. Theodore 
Roosevelt ; Admiral Bradley Fiske ; Dr. F. G. Brath- 
waite ; Admiral Count Togo ; Miss Mahan ; Admiral 
EarlBeatty; Mrs. Vernon-Mann; the Right Hon. Arthur 
Balfour ; Mr. Clive Bayley ; Admiral Sir Bouverie 
Clark ; Admiral Oman ; Commodore Parker ; Senator 
Lodge ; Mr. J. Herbert Johnston and Mr. George G. 
Hall, executors of Mr. Loyall Farragut ; Mr. Samuel 
Ashe ; Admiral Eberle ; Commander Ravenscroft ; 
Mr. Charles Stewart Davison ; the Editor of the Daily 
Mail ; Lieutenant Lemuel Hillman ; Mr. James Barnes ; 
Admiral Goodrich ; Mr. William Alexander ; Mr. 
Robert Bridges ; the members of the House and Library 
Committees of the University Club, New York ; the 
ladies who have deciphered and transcribed my manu- 
scripts ; and all others who have so kindly helped me 
and contributed towards the successful launching of 
the ship " Life of Admiral Mahan." 

Given that Marcus Aurelius rightly claims that a 
man is worth just so much as the things are worth 
about which he busies himself^ then indeed is Alfred 
Thayer Mahan worth, not only to his own country 
but to the world at large, more than readily lies within 
the compass of mere words to convey. 

Charles Carlisle Taylor. 

London, 
May 1920. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 

CHAPTER 

I. Heredity and Environment 
i/II. Early Naval Career 
■'/hi. The Inspiration . 
^^IV. Naval War College 
• V. Sea Power . 
VI. Farragut 
VII. England 
VIII- The Life of Nelson 
IX. Naval War Board. 
X. The First Hague Conference 
XI. The Chesney Gold Medal. . 
XII. Other Public Services 
XIII. Later Publications 
XIV. The Margin of Naval Strength 



PAGE 

vii 
1 

7 

21 

28 

40 

53 

57 

78 

88 

94 

102 

107 

112 

130 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

•^ XV. " Freedom of the Seas " 

XVI. Then and Now 

XVII. Peace Views . 

XVIII. Two Admirals . 

XIX. As Statesman . 

XX. As Prophet 

XXI. Anglo-American Relations 

'- XXII. Mahan's Message to his Countrymen 

XXIII. Literary Traits 

XXIV. Religious Convictions 
XXV. The Autumn of Life 

XXVI. The Peaceful End . 
XXVII. Summary . 
Appendix .... 

Bibliography .... 
Chronology .... 
Index ..... 



PAGE 

144 
161 
172 
178 
190 
208 
215 
228 
245 
257 
272 
284 
296 
308 



342 
345 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Alfred Thayer Mahan 



Frontispiece 



Alfred Thayer Mahan, Age 17 . 

Mahan Hall, Naval Academy, Annapolis . 

United States Frigate " Congress " . 

Admiral Stephen B. Luce, U.S.N. 

United States Naval War College, Newport 

Rhode Island ..... 
Admiral Farragut's Letter to his Wife . 
United States Cruiser " Chicago " . 
The Naval Board of Strategy, 1898 . 

American Delegates to the Hague Conference 

1899 

Theodore Roosevelt ..... 
Ex-Kaiser's Telegram to Mr. Poultney Bigelow 
U.S.S. " Pennsylvania " and U.S.S. " Chicago " 
Rear-Admiral William Sowden Sims, U.S.N. 
Vice- Admiral Sir Bouverie Clark, K.C.B. 



FACING PAGE 

2 



Map of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico 192 



Mahan's First Letter, Age 7 . . . 

Memorial Tablet in the Church of the Atone 
ment, quogue, long island . 

The Chesney Gold Medal .... 

Admiral Mahan's Home, "Marshmere," Quogue 
Long Island ...... 

Admiral Mahan and his Grandson 



8 
14 

28 

36 
54 
70 

88 

96 
110 
130 
164 
170 
182 



252 

260 
260 

274 
302 



THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL 
MAHAN 

CHAPTER I 

HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT 

All men are born equal in the sight of God and before the law ; 
but as touching this earthly pilgrimage, from the moment they first 
see the light of day, inherited predisposition toward mental, moral, 
and physical excellences and imperfections, mightily influenced by 
environment, separates, classifies, and brands them, elevating one and 
debasing another, until each year of their lives but widens the gulf 
which inexorably divides them. 

Alfred Thayer Mahan was born on September 27 
in the year 1840, at West Point on the Hudson.^ His 
father, Dennis Hart Mahan, who was Professor of 
Civil and Mihtary Engineering at the West Point 
Mihtary Academy, was born of Irish parentage in New 
York in 1802, shortly after the arrival of his father 
and mother from Ireland, and was baptized in the 
Roman Catholic Church in the parish of St. Peter's 
in Barclay Street. At an early age his parents moved 
to Norfolk, Virginia, and he became a Virginian at 
heart, remaining, however, a staunch supporter of 
the Union in the stormy days which were to come. 
In a memoir read before the National Academy of 

1 Mahan's birthplace, West Point on the Hudson, while within the 
boundaries of the State of New York, is not upon its territory, having 
been ceded to the Federal Government for the purposes of the United 
States Military Academy. 

1 



2 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT [chap, i 

Sciences, General Henry L. Abbott records that Professor 
Mahan was one of the most kind and affectionate of men, 
distinguished for his old-fashioned politeness and high 
sense of duty, and that he taught his children to observe 
scrupulous courtesy toward others and to avoid the 
use of any language approaching slang in his presence. 
He was a man of highly nervous disposition, had little 
sympathy with idleness and stupidity, but was withal 
of a kindly nature and genial humour. His letters 
to his son are full of sound advice and lofty ideals. 
He ends one dated in 1858 with these words : " Stand 
up to your work bravely, My Dear Boy, and always 
in the tone of a high-minded honourable Christian 
gentleman, and then let the consequences take care 
of themselves. Your own reputation will be un- 
sullied." 

His son recounts that on one occasion his father 
warned a friend not to persist with a proposal which, 
in his opinion, would make a lifelong and powerful 
enemy of one of the members of a board on which 
they were both sitting. Subsequently, however, his 
father voluntarily assumed the disagreeable duty he 
had advised him to shun, and thereby brought upon 
himself a lifelong hostility from which he protected 
his friend. There is little doubt from whom his son 
Alfred acquired, in part at least, his courteous and 
genial manner and his profound sense of duty. 

The development of Alfred Thayer Mahan * presents 
a curious illustration of the eccentricities of hereditary 
influence and of early environment. He was the son 
of a man who was born of Irish Catholic parents and 
christened a member of the Roman Catholic Church ; 
a man, moreover, whose earliest associations, especially 
those in connection with the war of 1812, influenced 
him strongly against England. This prejudice was 

1 Mahan pronounced his name Ma-han' : both a's as in " fan," and 
the accent on the last syllable. 




ALFKED THAYER MAHAN, AGE 17. 



1840] PROTESTANT INFLUENCES , 3 

probably enhanced by his preference for the French, 
and because of a cordial friendship with Lafayette 
and his family, by whom he was hospitably entertained 
in Paris. 

In this anti-English atmosphere was young Mahan 
brought up, but several circumstances arose which 
contributed to offset these early influences. His grand- 
mother Mahan died when his father was but a few years 
old. His grandfather then married a Protestant, and 
his father grew up in that faith and subsequently 
married Mary Helena Okill, daughter of an Englishman 
and of Mary Jay, a descendant of the great Huguenot 
family of that name which had fled from persecution 
in France under Louis XIV. Thus it was that Alfred 
Thayer Mahan first became a member of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. It may be said that he was one- 
half Irish and one-quarter English, the remaining quarter 
coming of French- American stock. Here is an opinion 
of himself as expressed in his own words : "As far as 
I understand my personality, I think to see in the 
result the predominance which the English strain has 
usually asserted for itself over others." 

He has also left on record that the experiences of 
life and subsequent reading and reflection modified, 
and in the end entirely overcame, his early anti-English 
prepossessions.^ In a letter to his sister written from 
Yokohama in 1868, when he was twenty-eight years 
old, he recounts in these words his first practical experi- 
ence of British folk : " Are not the English a wonderful 
people ? They alone of all civilised people keep 
troops here, and their transports, not only here, but all 

1 A generation earlier, Audubon, the renowned American naturalist, 
who, coming of French stock, was similarly prepossessed against the 
English of his day, also married the daughter of an Englishman, and 
Lucy Bakewell's warm-hearted and gentle disposition descended to 
her granddavighters, the Misses Eliza, Lucy, and Annie Audubon, 
whose unfailing kindness and generous hospitahty the author ever 
holds in grateful and affectionate memory. 
2 



4 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT [chap, i 

over the world are going and coming. Capetown, 
Aden, Bombay, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Yokohama, 
everywhere is to be seen their red-coated soldiery — 
and to them not only their own merchants but those 
of all other nations owe safety at times. Truly they 
may boast that the sun never sets upon their flag," 
recalling Daniel Webster's : " Whose morning drum- 
beat, following the sun, and keeping company with the 
hours, circles the earth with one continuous and unbroken 
strain of the martial airs of England." 

Mahan's father, Dennis Hart Mahan, graduated 
head of his class at West Point in 1824 and practically 
spent his life there. He was the author of a number 
of text-books on Military Engineering, and died in 1871 
after a distinguished career. His son records the fact 
that the spirit of the profession was strong in him and 
that he never knew a man of more strict and lofty 
military ideas. The elder Mahan knew, personally, 
nearly all the distinguished generals, both Confederate 
and Northern, in the Civil War, for most of them had 
been his pupils. 

Young Mahan spent his boyhood at West Point, ^ 
where amongst his earliest personal recollections were 
the great Southern General Robert E. Lee, then Superin- 
tendent of the Academy, and McClellan, at that time 
a junior engineer officer. When he was twelve years 
old his father sent him to a boarding-school at Hagers- 
town, Maryland. At fourteen he entered Columbia 
College, making his home with his uncle, the Rev. Milo 
Mahan, who was then Professor of Ecclesiastical History 
at the General Theological Seminary in New York, 
and who strongly influenced his religious life. 

He received his second name from General Sylvanus 
Thayer of distinguished memory, whose monument 

1 Lord Kitchener recommended the West Point MiUtary Academy 
to the AustraUan authorities as a model for their new military college, 
as ho considered it the best in the world. 



1856] CHOICE OF CAREER 5 

at West- Point bears the inscription : " Father of the 
United States Mihtary Academy." 

As a boy he had revelled in stories of naval life, 
including the reminiscences of naval officers, particularly 
those which abounded in Colbourn's United Service 
Magazine. This probably influenced him in choosing 
a naval career, despite the disapproval of his father, 
who felt that his son would succeed better in civil life. 
With this Mahan himself agreed in after-life.^ His 
father, however, did not wish to oppose his son arbitrarily 
in his choice of a career, so he sent him to Washington 
with letters of introduction to Jefferson Davis, then 
Secretary of War, and other personal friends, with the 
result that within a few months he was nominated 
for an appointment at the Naval Academy at Annapolis 
by Ambrose S. Murray, who represented in Congress 
the West Point District. 

On the way home from Washington Mahan visited 
an old friend of the family in Philadelphia, who threw 
cold water on his project, which he said he hoped would 
fail, because he considered the Navy a profession with 
little prospect, and proceeded to quote Dr. Johnson's 
" No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough 
to get himself into jail ; for being in a ship is being 
in jail with the chance of being drowned." To this the 
old gentleman added on his own account that in a ship- 
of-war you ran the additional risk of being killed. 
Somewhat disconcerting for the young Admiral-to-be ; 
notwithstanding which on September 30, 1856, Alfred 
Thayer Mahan was launched on his naval career as 
acting midshipman a few days after his sixteenth 

1 " My entrance into the Navy was greatly against my father's wish. 
I do not remember all his argtmients, but he told me he thought me 
much less fit for a military than for a civil profession, having watched 
me carefully. I think myself now that he was right ; for, though I 
have no cause to complain of unsuccess, I believe I should have done 
better elsewhere." — From Sail to Steam. 



6 HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT [chap, i 

birthday, in accordance with the provisions of the 
following letter of appointment : 

" Navy Department, 

" October 2, 1856. 

" Sir, 

" You are hereby appointed an Acting Midship- 
man in the Navy of the United States from the 30th 
September, 1856, to join the 3rd class. 

" If, after the course of attendance at the Naval 
Academy prescribed by the Revised Regulations 
approved January 25th, 1855, you shall satisfactorily 
pass the graduating examination, you will receive from 
the Academic Board the ' Certificate of Graduation ' 
referred to in the 5th section of the 6th Chapter of 
the above Regulations, which shall entitle you to a 
warrant as a Midshipman in the U.S. Navy, bearing the 
date of the certificate. If, however, you shall fail to 
obtain such certificate, you will be dropped from the 
list. 

" Enclosed is a copy of the requisite oath, which, 
having taken and subscribed, you will transmit to the 
Department with your letter of acceptance, in which 
you will state your age. 

" I am, respectfully, etc., 

" Chas. Welsh, 
" Acting Secretary of the Navy. 

" Acting Midshipman Alfred Thayer Mahan, 
of the 10th Congressional 
District of New York, 
" U.S. Naval Academy, AnnapoUs." 



CHAPTER II 

EARLY NAVAL CAREER 



Naval ScHool 
F<randed October lOfb. 1845 

JAMES K. POLK. 

President of tHe U. States 

GEO. BANCROFT. 

Secretary of the Navy. 



The original tablet commemorating 
the founding of the Naval Academy. 

The boy Mahan had not only absorbed the fascinating 
sea-stories of Marryat and Fenimore Cooper, but had 
studied them, moreover, with such appreciative intelli- 
gence that on his arrival at the Naval Academy at An- 
napolis he found himself in congenial surroundings and 
a familiar atmosphere in the charming spot that a couple 
of centuries ago was named in memory of good Queen 
Anne, and which has since witnessed the sturdy develop- 
ment of countless budding naval commanders destined 
to handle the fighting ships of Uncle Sam's mighty fleet 
now in process of rapid evolution.^ 

Of the many fine buildings which add to the charm of 

^ The author has the very pleasantest recollections of the Naval 
Academy, of its courteous Superintendent, Admiral Eberle, of Com- 
mander Ravenscroft of the Naval Institute, the smart military bearing 
of the cadets, and the beautiful grounds and noble buildings. Above 
all, the Naval Academy impresses a visitor as an institution worthy in 
spirit and proportion of the powerful Navy of which it is at once the 
portent and the embryo. 

7 



8 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

the Naval Academy, perhaps the most notable, with 
the possible exception of the giant Bancroft Hall of 
granite, capable of housing three thousand midshipmen, 
is Mahan Hall, a picture of which is reproduced in this 
chapter. It is dedicated to the memory of Admiral 
Mahan, and in addition to an immense lecture-hall, 
the ceilings and walls of which are adorned by trophies 
captured at sea by the American Navy in bygone days, 
it boasts on the upper floor a splendid naval library. 
It is crowned by a clock tower in which the hours are 
struck in " bells " as at sea. 

Dr. Allan Westcott, of the United States Naval Aca- 
demy, tells us in his admirable Mahan on Naval Warfare 
that, in his last year at the Naval Academy, in a class 
of twenty, Mahan stood first in seamanship, physics, 
political science, and moral science, third in naval tactics 
and gunnery, fourth in " steam engine," and fifth in 
astronomy and navigation, and that the year before he 
had excelled in physics, rhetoric, and Spanish. He was 
then in his twentieth year. On this solid foundation, 
aided by industry and natural gifts, he developed those 
rare analytical powers which were to become so con- 
spicuous a feature of his mental equipment in later years. 
One of his class-mates became a lifelong friend. This 
was the Hon. Samuel Ashe, LL.D., who is now Clerk 
of the United States District Court at Raleigh, North 
Carolina. In a description of early days at the Naval 
Academy, contributed to the South Atlantic Quarterly^ 
July 1919, under the title of Memories of Annapolis, 
Mr. Ashe tells us : 

" In 1856 Alfred Mahan entered my class — a year 
advanced — and at once began to share its highest 
honors. He was the most intellectual man I have ever 
known. He had not only a remarkable memory but 
also capacity to comprehend, and a clarity of perception 
that rendered him distinguished among men of in- 
telligence. He and I became affectionate friends, and 




.fMf! :aM. ■ 



1859] INTELLECTUAL AMBITIONS 9 

our friendship lasted through hfe. We were corre- 
spondents until his death — although in these later years 
our letters were desultory. In the rotunda at Washing- 
ton is a painting, the Landing of the Pilgrims. Miles 
Standish's wife, Rose, is represented leaning over his 
shoulder. Her face was painted from that of Admiral 
Mahan when a boy, and it is a remarkable presentation 
of his lineaments as he was when he entered the Academy. 
" When we were starting on our cruise in the summer 
of 1858 the subject of naval heroes came up ; and Mahan 
mentioned to me that the day for gaining distinction 
through feats of personal daring, as in the case of Decatur, 
was passed, but that he proposed to win renown in his 
profession through intellectual performance. He was 
not apt as a sailor-man, for we boys were taught the 
handiwork of seamen ; but he had another vision ; 
and his subsequent career is a remarkable illustration 
of the realisation of young dreams." 

About this time Mahan was described as " very 
good-looking and the smartest man in his class." 

He spent three years at the Naval Academy, graduat- 
ing second in his class in the summer of 1859. The 
usual course was four years, but owing to his father's 
skilful training he was able to jump the lowest class 
and gain admittance to a class already a year in existence, 
a feat which later on made for promotion, and was said 
at the time to have been the only case of the kind on 
record. He ascribed it partly to a morbid fondness 
for registers and time-tables, which in this instance led 
to the discovery that an appointee might enter any 
class for which he could pass the examinations. Of 
forty-nine in Class " 55 Date " but twenty graduated. 
To the man who beat him for first place, William 
Briggs Hall, was publicly presented a sword of honour 
inscribed, " For the highest academic merit." This 
doughty opponent, after resigning from the Navy and 
fighting with the Confederate forces in the Civil War, 
eventually became a Major of Engineers and Adjutant- 



10 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

General of the Egyptian forces, rendering conspicuous 
service to the Khedive of Egypt, to whom he was 
recommended by General Sherman. 

Among those of Class " 55 Date " who survived the 
hostilities of 1861 to 1865 may be found the names of 
Admiral George Collier Remey, Admiral Norman 
Farquhar, Commander Roderick McCook, and Com- 
mander Samuel Dana Greene, the hero of the iron-clad 
Monitor. 

In his recollections of naval life, published in 1907 
under the title of From Sail to Steam, Mahan lingers 
with engaging touch on conditions of life at the Naval 
Academy in those young days, and quaintly describes 
his early experiences at sea, all of which were with 
sailing-vessels. The practical knowledge thus gained 
was of priceless value to him twenty years later in 
analysing the details of the strategy and tactics employed 
by Nelson and other famous commanders in the great 
naval battles of the world. 

He tells us, among other recollections, that hazing 
was unknown in his day at the Naval Academy, being 
looked down upon by the members of his class as 
beneath the dignity of young naval gentlemen ; although, 
after the war had removed the restraining influence 
of the senior midshipmen, it became as unhappily 
notorious as it was at the Military Academy. He 
recounts, too, the transformation that has, since his 
early days, taken place for the better in respect of 
drinking habits in the Navy, due partly, among the 
lower ranks at any rate, to the abolition of flogging 
which occurred about 1849 ; and he picturesquely 
describes the distinctive character of the snowy cotton 
sails of American sailing-ships which, prior to the 
Civil War, " literally whitened every sea." Mahan 
deplored the possession of clumsy fingers. Beyond 
a few elementary " bends," he never fathomed the 
mysteries of knotting and splicing, and admitted that 



1860] REMINISCENCES 11 

before such a masterpiece as a " turk's-head " he merely 
bowed in reverence. 

Among other comments of interest in his reminiscences 
he states that, in his opinion, the critics who of late 
years have called in question the accuracy of the usual 
version of the attack at Trafalgar are mistaken, but 
admits that their arguments may deserve some justifi- 
cation by reason of the inexact nautical phraseology 
of that day.' He gives a glowing description of the 
magnificent comet of 1858, the hke of which astronomers 
assert no human eye will behold for two thousand years 
to come. Mahan confirms the impression that at the 
opening of hostihties in 1861 the preservation of the 
Union was the impelling motive of those who fought 
for the North, the abolition of slavery being a secondary 
issue, although the existence of slavery was no doubt 
the primary cause of the war. Throughout his writings 
he referred to the war between the North and South 
as the War of Secession and not as the Civil War. 
In the following words he affords us a glimpse of his 
boyhood's home training on the slavery question : 

" As my boyhood advanced the abolition movement 
was gaining strength, to the great disapprobation and 
dismay of my father, with his strong Southern and Union 
sympathies. I remember that when Uncle Torri's 
Cabin came out, in my twelfth year, the master of the 
school I attended gave me a copy ; being himself, 
I presume, one of the rising party adverse to slavery. 
My father took it out of my hands, and I came to regard 
it much as I would a bottle labelled ' Poison.' In 
consequence I never read it in the days of its vogue, 
and I have to admit that since then, in mature years, 
I have not been able to continue it after beginning. 
The same motives, in great part, led to my being sent 
to a boarding-school in Maryland, near Hagerstown, 

1 A comparatively modern topic for discussion in the light of the 
divergence of opinion still existing between adherents of ^schylus 
and Herodotus as to the details of the battle of Salamis, 480 B.C. 



12 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

which drew its pupils very largely, though not exclusively, 
from the South. The environment would be upon the 
whole Southern." 

He throws a little sidelight into one aspect of his 
mental personality by admitting that he agreed with 
the wisdom of the adage, Never contrive an opportunity ; 
his experience of life having justified him in awaiting 
rather than contriving occasions. He also confesses to 
a lifelong horror of keeping servants waiting, the outcome 
of a realisation of the truth of the maxim that " punctu- 
ality is the politeness of kings." He calls to mind the 
curious fact that during his first year at the Academy 
the United States Government began to coquette with 
the title " Admiral," which at that time was supposed 
to have some insidious connection with monarchical 
institutions, as illustrated by the remonstrance of 
a worthy member of his crew, who exclaimed : " Call 
them Admirals ! Never ! They will be wanting to 
be dukes next." Subsequently the Government com- 
promised on " Flag-officer," an obvious misnomer. 
Since that day, however, broadminded counsels have 
prevailed, and to-day an Admiral is an Admiral in the 
American Navy. 

Mahan records his preference for Marryat as a naval 
story-writer. He explains that Marryat had lived the 
naval life as no other sea-author had, and consequently 
his characters were true to life, whereas he found that 
Fenimore Cooper caricatured rather than reproduced 
Hfe. 

In From Sail to Steam occurs one of the isolated 
instances in which Mahan makes any reference to his 
religious beliefs. In a description of the Jewish popula- 
tion of Aden, he says : " I am without anti-Semitic 
feeling. That Jesus Christ was a Jew covers His race 
for me." Discussing the effects of climate and environ- 
ment, he asks the debatable question : " Does beer 



1860] REMINISCENCES 13 

taste as good in America as in England ? " and in reply 
expresses the opinion, " I think not, unless perhaps in 
Newport, Rhode Island." ^ 

Referring to a native ceremony in Muscat and his 
expected attendance with his Captain, there is a char- 
acteristic touch of the real Mahan in his concluding 
remark : " As it called for full uniform, I begged off." 
Commenting upon his experiences in the East, he pays 
this tribute to the beneficent influence of Great Britain 
upon the destinies of mankind : 

" An impression which accumulates upon the atten- 
tive traveller following the main roads of maritime 
commerce is the continual outcropping of the British 
soldier. It is not that there is so much of him, but that 
he is so manywhere : in our single voyage, at places 
so apart as Cape Town, Aden, Bombay, Singapore, 
Hong Kong. Although not on our route (nevertheless 
linked to the four last named by the great ocean highway 
between East and West, consecutive even in those 
distant days before the Suez Canal), he was already in 
force in Gibraltar and Malta ; since which he is to be 
found in Cyprus also and in Egypt. He is no chance 
phenomenon, but an obvious effect of a noteworthy 
cause ; an incident of current history, the exponent, 
unconsciously to himself, of many great events." 

A significant prediction in the light of the glorious 
part since played by British soldiers scattered throughout 
the Eastern theatres of the Great War ! 

Mahan described blockading in the Civil War as 
desperately tedious work ; even the notorious tellers 
of stories among the ship's company becoming ultimately 
reduced to exhaustion and silence. In his reminiscences 
he recounts a number of quaintly humorous nautical 

"^ It is a somewhat curious coincidence that in letters to friends in 
New York and elsewhere the author has often described Newport 
as being more like England than any other place visited by him in 
America. 



14 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ti 

anecdotes, the following breezy ditty being a fairly 
characteristic example of the type : 

" One night came on a hurricane, 

The sea was mountains roUing, 
When Barney BuntUne turned his quid 

And said to Billy Bowhne, 
' A strong nor'wester's blowing. Bill : 

Hark ! don't you hear it roar now ? 
Lord help them ! how I pities all 

Unlucky folks on shore now. 

" ' Foolliardy chaps, that live in towns. 

What dangers they are all in ! 
And now lie shaking in their beds. 

For fear the roof should fall in ! 
Poor creatures, how they envies us. 

And wishes, I've a notion. 
For our good luck, in such a storm. 

To be upon the ocean. 

" ' And often. Bill, I have been told 

How folks are killed, and undone, 
By overturns of carriages, 

By fogs and fires in London. 
We know what risks all landsmen run. 

From noblemen to tailors ; 
Then, Bill, let us thank Providence 

That you and me are sailors.' " 

Mahan and two of his intimate friends were fortunate 
in having their applications for the sloop-of-war Levant 
refused, as she never reached her destination, having 
disappeared in the Pacific without leaving a trace — 
one of the many mysteries of the deep. The three 
chums were appointed to the frigate Congress, and in 
the cruise which followed Mahan made his first personal 
acquaintance with the coasts and waters of South 
America and Africa. A few years later the Congress, 
though a magnificent ship of her period, carrying 
fifty guns and five hundred men, fell an easy victim 
to the Confederate ironclad Merrimac. 

Circumstances connected with the Civil War brought 
rapid promotion, and in 1861, at twenty-one years of 



1861] "MYSTERY SHIP" PROPOSAL 15 

age, Mahan was appointed lieutenant. The third 
lieutenant of the Congress, expecting a command, 
expressed a wish to have him as his first lieutenant, and 
after a brief term of service on the James Adger, Mahan 
found himself on board the Pocahontas of the South 
Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and enjoyed his first 
experience of active service in the expedition against 
Port Royal, there receiving his baptism of fire from the 
Confederate forts. Luckily the enemy's fire was high, 
and although the Pocahontas did not escape damage, 
none of her crew were injured. 

While on board the James Adger Mahan seems to 
have given the first official indication of the existence 
of that characteristic of ingenuity which was the key 
to the success of his treatment of naval history in days 
to come. He was then twenty-one years old. The 
dramatic part played by the mystery ships of the 
British Navy in the recent hostilities adds peculiar 
interest to the contents of the following letter, which 
tells its own story and which the author is enabled to 
reproduce through the courtesy of Mr. Franklin 
Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy : ^ 

" U.S. Steamer ' James Adger,' 
" September 9, 1861, 

" Sir, 

" I hope you will overlook what may appear 
like youthful presumption in addressing you on the 
subject I wish to. 

" The ravages of the pirate Sumter have reached 
a pitch that, if long continued, will cast an undeserved 
stigma upon the Navy. Her speed on the cruising- 
ground she has chosen will always enable her to obtain 
the twenty-four hours shelter granted by neutral powers, 
and thus a chance of escape by night, which can only 
be prevented by surrounding her with a chain of vessels 
more numerous than our small Navy and extended 

^ From Officers^ Letters, September 1861, vol. i, p. 222. Printed in 
3er. i, vol. i, p. 87, Official Records, Union and Confederate Navies. 



16 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

blockaded coast can at present allow us to devote to 
this object. 

" Can she not be decoyed under fire, or even boarded ? 
A steamer cannot do this, for the smallness of the steam 
mercantile marine would of itself render her liable to 
suspicion. I have thought that a sailing vessel, such 
as one of the lately confiscated rebel vessels, might be 
equipped with a heavy pivot gun, and a light house 
built over it, such as are often seen in merchant ships, 
and which could not excite suspicion. Broadside guns 
requiring ports would be incompatible with the end in 
view. Man the ship with a hundred men — more if 
necessary. Will there not be a probability of the 
steamer approaching confidently, if to leeward, within 
a distance to render boarding practicable ; if to 
windward, so as possibly to be disabled or sunk with 
your heavy gun ? 

" Elaboration of detail would be misplaced here, 
and I shall not attempt it. I am aware that the 
disadvantages a sailing vessel labours under are great, 
and my idea may appear rash or even hare-brained. 
But suppose it fail, what is lost ? A useless ship, 
a midshipman and a hundred men. If it succeed, 
apart from the importance of the capture, look at the 
prestige such an affair would give the service. 

" Finally, if this is so fortunate as to meet your 
approval and that of the Honourable Secretary, and 
you should not wish to risk a better man, I beg to offer 
myself to lead the enterprise. 

" I am. Sir, very respectfully, 
" Your obdt. Servant, 
" Alfred T. Mahan, 

" Midshipman, U.S.N. 
" Capt. G. V. Fox, 

" Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 
" Washington, D.C." 

There appears to be no record of the fate of this 
creditable proposal, but its motive was evidently 
a zealous regard for the prestige of his Navy, and its 
merit is enhanced by the pluck and modesty of the 



1863] ACTIVE SERVICE 17 

closing words, " and you should not wish to risk a 
better man, I beg to offer myself to lead the enterprise." 

When the Pocahontas came rjorth for repairs, Mahan, 
after eight months at the Naval Academy, which had then 
been temporarily transferred to Newport, was appointed 
first lieutenant of the Macedonian, which was just 
leaving for a summer practice cruise in Europe, number- 
ing among her lieutenants a young man who, as Admiral 
Sampson, later achieved national fame in the Spanish- 
American war, and of whom Mahan in 1902 wrote a 
biographical sketch which appears in the collection of 
magazine articles published under the title of Retrospect 
and Prospect. She also carried as a lieutenant a scion 
of the royal house of Orleans, whose English was more 
or less indifferent, Mahan' s inspection of the log one day 
disclosing, as the young duke's first effort, the entry : 
" The weather was a dirty one." 

On the return from this cruise Mahan was ordered to 
the Seminole, which joined the West Gulf Blockading 
Squadron at Sabine Pass, application for service aboard 
the Monongahela having been refused in favour of 
a class-mate who was killed a few months later in the 
passage of the Mobile forts. Of this incident Mahan 
has said : "I can scarcely claim a miraculous escape, 
but for him, poor fellow ! the commander's refusal was 
a sentence of death." Mahan was on the staff of the 
Commander-in-Chief of the South Atlantic Blockading 
Squadron, Admiral Dahlgren, on the James Adger, when 
the Admiral at last entered Charleston Harbour, which 
had so long resisted capture. He was also present at 
the meeting of all the general officers who had shared 
in Sherman's March to the Sea. 

When the war ended, Mahan found that he had 
saved five hundred dollars of his pay, and hearing 
that many naval officers in the South were in need, 
the outcome of hostilities, he sent the money to a 
friend to be used for their benefit, a supremely 



18 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

generous impulse the nobility of which no words 
can enhance, for it was his all. It recalls Rocham- 
beau's friendly loan to Cornwallis after Yorktown, 
when de Grasse's effective blockade had not only 
deprived the British Commander of the all-essential 
men and supplies, but had left him without personal 
resources. 

During his next term of service, which was on board 
the Muscoota, Mahan contracted a severe attack of 
tropical fever from the effects of which he suffered for 
many a long day. In 1865 he was promoted lieutenant- 
commander, and after a year's ordnance duty in Wash- 
ington Navy Yard, left for the Asiatic Station on the 
steam-sloop Iroquois and enjoyed his first acquaintance 
with China, Japan, and the Far East. He was present 
at the opening of the new treaty ports, Kobe and Osaka, 
and records that even at this late date, 1868, the decree 
against the practice of Christianity by the natives was 
reissued : " Hitherto the Christian religion has been 
forbidden, and the order must be strictly kept. The 
corrupt religion is strictly forbidden." This visit to 
Japan was as an unknown naval officer twenty-seven 
years of age. Twenty-five years later the skilful and 
intrepid mariners of the Flowery Kingdom were 
imbibing principles of naval strategy from his works 
which had been studiously translated into the Japanese 
language, and a picturesque part of the hills near Kobe 
was known as " Mahan' s Valley." 

After another unfortunate illness at Nagasaki, probably 
a return of the fever contracted in Haiti, Mahan com- 
manded the gunboat Aroostook, which was eventually 
sold. Being thus relieved of his command, he returned 
to the United States by way of Suez, crossing India 
from Calcutta to Bombay and visiting, among many other 
interesting spots, the historic ruins of Lucknow. Next 
followed six months' enjoyable leave in Europe, and as 
this period embraces one of the critical turning-points 



1870] THE AWAKENING 19 

in his career, its recital shall be given in his own 
words : 

" The year 1870, in which I returned home, was one 
of marked and decisive influence upon history, and 
in a way a turning-point in my own obscure career. 
As in February I witnessed the splendors of the papal 
city under its old regime, so in April and May I saw 
imperial Paris brilliant under the Emperor. In the 
one case as in the other, I was unconscious of the 
approaching debacle ; a blindness, I presume, shared 
by most contemporaries. 

" Whatever the wiser and more far-seeing might have 
prophesied as to the general ultimate issues, few or none 
could have foretold the particular occasion which so 
soon afterwards opened the flood-gates. As the old 
passed, with the downfall of the French Empire and of 
the temporal kingdom,* there arose a new ; not merely 
the German Empire and the unity of Italy, crowned 
by the possession of its historic capital, but, unrecognised 
for the moment, then came in that reign of organised 
and disciplined force, the full effect and function of 
which in the future men still only dimly discern. 

" The successive rapid overthrows of the Austrian 

1 " Landing at Marseilles, I found that intimate friends were then 
at Nice. I accordingly went there, instead of to Paris, as I had 
intended ; and, like thoughtless young men everywhere, abandoned 
myself to pleasant society instead of to self-improvement by travel. 
My purpose, however, continually was to go directly to Paris when 
I did leave Nice, for my time was limited ; but a middle-aged friend 
strongly dissuaded me. ' You should by no means fail to visit Rome 
now,' he said, ' for, independently of the immortal interest of the 
pla<;e, of the treasures of association and of art which are its imperish- 
able birthright, there is the more transient spectacle of the Papacy, 
in the pride, pomp, and circumstance of the temporal power. This 
may at any moment pass away, and you therefore may never have 
another opportunity to witness it in its glory. There is a vague 
traditional prophecy that, as St. Peter held the bishopric of Rome 
twenty-five years, any pope whose tenure exceeds his will see the 
downfall of the papal sovereignty over Rome. Such prophecies often 
insiu-e their own fulfilment, and Pius IX is now closely approaching 
his twenty-fifth year. Go while you can.' So I went, in February, 
1870 ; and before the next winter's snow the temporal power was a 
thing of the past." — From Sail to Steam. 
3 



20 EARLY NAVAL CAREER [chap, ii 

and French Empires by military efficiency and skill; 
the beating in detail two separate foes who, united, 
might have been too strong for the victor ; the con- 
sequent crumbling of the papal monarchy when French 
support was withdrawn, following closely on the Vatican 
Decree of Infallibility ; these things produced an 
impression which was transmitted rapidly throughout 
the world of European civilisation, till in the Farther 
East it reached Japan. 

" Into the current thus established the petty stream 
of my own fortunes was drawn, little anticipated by 
myself. To it was due my special call ; for by it was 
created the predisposition to recognise the momentous 
bearing of maritime force upon the course of history, 
which insured me a hearing when the fulness of my 
time was come." 



CHAPTER III 

THE INSPIRATION 

" Into each one of us who are born into this world, God has put 
something of Himself, and by reason of this Divine part all things are 
possible. Men do not realise the power within them, for man is a 
selfish creature, and self is always grossly blind. But let a man look 
within himself, let him but become convinced of this Divine power, 
and the sure and certain knowledge of ultimate success will be his. 
So, striving diligently, this power shall grow within him, and bye-and- 
bye he shall achieve great things, and the world proclaim him a genius." 
— Jeffery Faenol. 

The apathy with which the Navy was regarded by the 
people of the United States after the cessation of 
hostihties in 1865 and the consequent inaction in naval 
affairs had, like so many other evils, at least one influence 
for good. It gave Mahan, after his return from sea in 
1870, several years of comparative leisure, the most 
priceless advantage that can fall to the lot of a man of 
letters — leisure to read, leisure to think, leisure to 
write. Multi-blessed, heaven-sent gift of leisure ! 

From 1870 to 1872, in which year he was promoted 
Commander, he was employed from time to time at the 
Navy Yard in New York and elsewhere, and after 
commanding the Wasp in the River Plate he had 
intervals of shore duty in the Naval Academy and in 
the Navy Yards at Boston and New York, until 1883, 
bringing this period of his career to a close two years 
later in commanding the steam-sloop Wachusett of the 
South Pacific Squadron. 

On June 11, 1872, Mahan married Miss Ellen Lyle 
Evans, eldest daughter of Mr. Manlius Glendower 

21 



22 THE INSPIRATION [chap, hi 

Evans of Philadelphia. Admiral Stockton, in a tribute 
to his old friend, says that only the members of Mahan's 
family and those who were admitted to his intimate 
friendship knew how rich, close, and interdependent 
this joint life became and continued to the end. 

It is with profound diffidence that the pen is dipped 
into the current of a man's private life. In the case 
of Mahan, however, it is not a difficult task, for his 
career was, both at home and abroad, an open book, 
and there is not lacking ample evidence that in his 
personal relations he at all times fulfilled the highest 
ideals of American family life. 

Whatever may have been the material source of 
inspiration which ultimately evolved the Sea Power 
masterpieces, there is good reason to believe that the 
world owes much to Mrs. Mahan's encouragement of 
her husband's efforts, her invaluable assistance in 
transcribing his MSS. into typewritten sheets, and her 
persistent advocacy of the publication of his lectures 
in book form. 

Two daughters and one son were born to them, 
Ellen Evans Mahan in 1873 at Montevideo, Helen 
Kuhn Mahan in 1877, and Lyle Evans Mahan, 1881, 
who married Miss Madeleine Johnson. Their son 
Alfred Thayer Mahan perpetuates the great name 
his grandfather bore, and his father, Mr. Lyle 
Evans Mahan, recounts that as a child he was 
the only member of the family who presumed to take 
liberties with the Admiral, who was devoted to his 
grandson and spent much of his time amusing him. 
A photograph of the two Alfred Thayer Mahans enjoying 
themselves together is reproduced in Chapter XXV. 

Mahan had three sisters and two brothers, both of 
the latter of whom entered the service of the United 
States, Commodore Dennis Hart Mahan in the Navy 
and Major Frederick Mahan in the U.S. Corps of 
Engineers. His sister Mary died in 1891. During 



1883] HIS HAPPY FAMILY LIFE 23 

his early years at sea he was wont ta write his sister 
Miss Jane Leigh Mahan, who now Hves in New York, 
long and interesting letters descriptive of the foreign 
ports at which he was stationed or which he visited 
on his way from one country to another. 

It is characteristic of his strong natural inclination 
towards reticence about himself and his personal affairs 
that none of his books, not even the biographical sketch 
From Sail to Steam, contain any references to his family. 
In his private correspondence with his friend Sir Bouverie 
Clark, however, he often referred to his happy life, and 
in one letter he says : " No man can have had a much 
happier life than I." 

The first book to have a decided influence on his 
future career was Napier's Peninsular War, which he 
studied while on shore duty in the early eighties, and 
he has left on record this description of the event : 

" During my last tour of shore duty I had read 
carefully Napier's Peninsular War, and had found myself 
in a new world of thought, keenly interested and 
appreciative, less of the brilliant ? narrative — though 
that few can fail to enjoy — than of the military sequences 
of cause and effect. The influence of Sir John Moore's 
famous march to Sahagun — less famous than it deserves 
to be — upon Napoleon's campaign in Spain, revealed 
to me by Napier like the sun breaking through a cloud, 
aroused an emotion as joyful as the luminary himself 
to a navigator doubtful of his position." 

I'rom this time onward, military ideas seem to have 
taken possession of his mind. In 1883 he wrote, by 
request, a short history of the naval operations in the 
Civil War. This was published under the title of The 
Gulf and Inland Waters, and as a first attempt at author- 
ship 1 was regarded by the Navy and by the literary 
critics as a very creditable performance, though unavoid- 

1 With the exception of a prize essay written for the Naval Insti- 
tute in 1878. 



24 THE INSPIRATION [chap, hi 

ably limited in scope as compared with his subsequent 
masterpieces. 

Loyall Farragut, son of the distinguished Admiral, 
wrote to Mahan on July 6, 1883 : "I have read your 
book with much pleasure and consider that you have 
been fair with all hands." And the following letter 
came from Samuel Dana Greene, a member of Class 
" 55 Date " : 

" Washington, D.C, 

" June 23, 1883. 

" My dear Mahan, 

" I have read your book carefully, with great 
interest, and I trust with profit. 

" You have told your story wonderfully well, and I 
believe that its success is assured, and that such will 
be the verdict of all fair-minded men. 

" As my classmate, I congratulate you most sincerely 
upon your good work. You are most fortunate, in 
condensing so big a story into such a small space and 
yet in having said all that was necessary, to give a clear 
and distinct idea of the work that your book covers. 

" Again I congratulate you most cordially. 

" S. D. Greene." 

The Army and Navy Journal of July 1883 had this 
to say of it : 

" In conscientious industry of preparation, in grasp 
of his subject and general coup d'ceil, in careful finish 
of details, and in frankness and general fairness of 
criticism, the author leaves nothing to be desired. He 
follows the approved methods of students and historians, 
and his narrative is throughout picturesque and instruc- 
tive." 

A change in naval policy came in President Arthur's 
administration while Mr. Chandler was Secretary of 
the Navy, and among other activities to their credit 
was the establishment of the Naval War College at 
Newport, the first President of which, Admiral Luce, 



1884] ADMIRAL LUCE'S INVITATION 25 

wrote to Mahan, who was then in command of the 
Wachusett, inviting him to become one of the staff 
of instructors and undertake the subjects of naval 
history and naval tactics. 

Mahan received the letter far away in tropical South 
America, thousands of miles from Newport. In Lima, 
Peru, in the library of the little English Club which 
extended its hospitalities to visiting American naval 
officers, he found Mommsen's History of Rome, intelligent 
examination of which opened his eyes to the advantages 
lost by Hannibal through his inability to use the sea 
effectively in his great campaigns against the Romans. 
This clue he followed up vigorously, and in his own 
words tells us : 

" While my problem was still wrestling with my 
brain there dawned upon me one of those concrete 
perceptions which turn inward darkness into light — 
give substance to shadow. He who seeks finds, 
if he does not lose heart ; and to me, continuously 
seeking, came from within the suggestion that control 
of the sea was an historic factor which had never been 
systematically appreciated and expounded. Once 
formulated consciously, this thought became the nucleus 
of all my writing for twenty years then to come." 

Admiral Luce's invitation was accepted with avidity, 
not only because Mahan was glad to get away from the 
Pacific station, but because the work strongly appealed 
to his imagination, and whilst he felt he was not qualified 
to undertake it without abundant research and earnest 
preparation, he took courage from the recollection that 
at the Military Academy his father had successfully 
overcome similar obstacles. He has recorded his 
gratitude to the " Father of the Naval War College," 
Admiral Luce, for having placed him on the road which 
led directly to his later successes, which may be 
considered the more remarkable in view of the fact 
that at forty-five years of age not only was his knowledge 



26 THE INSPIRATION [chap, hi 

of military and naval history decidedly limited, but he 
was, strange to say, one of those who held the erroneous 
impression that the naval history of bygone days was 
of little or no value for the study of naval strategy 
in the present era of long-range guns and speedy iron- 
clad ships — an impression shared by most of his naval 
friends. A notable exception to the contrary, however, 
was Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby, of the British Navy, 
who vigorously counselled exhaustive study of the 
naval history of the past. 

Mahan thus quaintly describes his own state of 
mind at this period of his career : 

" With little constitutional initiative, and having 
grown up in an atmosphere of the simple cruiser, of 
commerce-destroying, defensive warfare and indiffer- 
ence to battleships ; an anti-imperialist, who for that 
reason looked upon Mr. Blaine as a dangerous man; 
at forty-five I was drifting on the lines of simple 
respectability as aimlessly as one well could — my 
environment had been too much for me ; my present 
call changed it." 

By the time Mahan reached home the plan he had 
formed was this : he would estabhsh the hitherto 
little realised influence of the sea on the destinies of 
nations, and base his demonstrations on the facts of 
history, both general and naval, covering the period 
of the preceding two hundred years. 

An exhaustive course of naval and historical research 
followed. Masters of strategy were explored, among 
others Napoleon, Jomini,i and Hamley. There is 
apparently no record that he studied Clausewitz, that 
prolific exponent of the science of war, to whom the 
Germans owe so much of their strength and their 
weaknesses. Unfortunately the immense advantage 
of such modern works as those of Laughton and Colomb 

1 Mahan named hia favourite dog Jomini. 



1884] THE INFLUENCE OF JOMINI 27 

was denied him, and he had to rely at first on old writers, 
such as Campbell, James, La Perouse-Bonfils, Chevalier, 
and innumerable others. Henri Martin's History of 
France was invaluable in awakening in him a realisation 
of the momentous national import of a sound commercial 
and maritime policy, especially under the skilful guid- 
ance of such a master as Colbert, France's famous 
minister who has been aptly described as " possessed 
of a matchless faculty for work, neither shrinking from 
the vastest undertakings nor scorning the most trivial 
details." 

The evolution of Mahan's wonderful command of 
the subject he has made essentially his own, "Sea Power," 
owed much to the researches he made at this time 
in the almost inexhaustible mass of trade statistics of 
days gone by, his object being to master the intricacies 
of the relations between the navy and commerce, and 
between land power and sea power. To this he was 
instigated in the first instance by Henri Martin's inter- 
esting account of the manipulation of trade by Colbert. 

Mommsen's History of Rome had set Mahan thinking 
about the historical influence of sea power, but it was 
by Jomini that he was encouraged to make a critical 
analysis of the great naval campaigns and conclusive 
battles of the world. From Napoleon and from Jomini 
he learned the living principles of strategy and the close 
relation in warfare between the Statesman and the 
General ; and upon these foundations he set himself 
to prove to the world how stupendous an influence 
upon the destinies of nations had been, for centuries, 
the military and commercial control of the sea. 



CHAPTER IV 

NAVAL WAR COLLEGE 

" If with the study of military science the naval student carries on 
a parallel coiirse of naval history, he will be enabled to group together 
in an intelligent manner certain classes of facts, by the generalisation 
of which he may formulate for himself principles for his guidance as 
the commander of a sea-army preparatory to and during war. Thus 
he will have raised naval warfare under steam from the empirical stage 
to the dignity of a science. To conduct the study of naval warfare 
by this method will be the work of the War College." — Admibal 
Stephen B. Luce, U.S. Navy. 

One lesson learned from the Civil War was the imperative 
need of a Naval College capable of training staff officers 
to become so highly proficient in every phase and detail 
of the science of war as to be qualified to furnish instantly 
to the Navy Department the requisite technical informa- 
tion, and to carry out effectively the strategy determined 
by the civilian head of the department under their 
advice. 

To the foresight and indefatigable energies of Admiral 
Luce ^ are due the inception of the plan, the initial 
foundation of the United States Naval War College, 
and much of its success for the first twenty-five years 
of its existence. He was indeed a tower of strength 
and justly entitled to be known to future generations 
as the Father of the Naval War College, the original 
idea of which came to him as the result of a conversa- 
tion with General Sherman during the Civil War. 

^ The eventful career of this strenuous veteran, to whom the officers 
of the United States Navy owe so much, came to a close at Newport 
in 1917 in his ninety-first year, 

28 




ADMIRAL STEPHEN B. LUCE, UNITEB STATES NAVY. 



28] 



1884] MAHAN ACCEPTS 29 

Owing to almost incredible opposition on the part, 
strange to say, of naval officers of influence in the service, 
twenty years were consumed in bringing his idea to 
fruition. 

The Navy Department appointed as the first Board 
of Control, Commodore Stephen B. Luce, Commander 
William T. Sampson, and Lieutenant- Commander Caspar 
F. Goodrich, who as Admiral Goodrich was in later years 
President of the College. Admiral Porter and Admiral 
Walker, among others, proved themselves strong friends 
in the early struggles for existence, which opened in a 
building, once an almshouse, in the grounds of the United 
States Naval Training Station, on Coaster's Harbour 
Island in Narragansett Bay. 

The following extracts from the History of the United 
States Naval War College describe Mahan's acceptance 
of Admiral Luce's invitation and his arrival at the War 
College : 

" Among the first selected was Captain Mahan, 
already recognised as a scholarly officer, and the author 
of a volume on the Navy in the Civil War entitled 
2%e Gulf and Inland Waters, but whose genius was not 
then suspected by anyone, and least of all, we may 
suppose, by himself. Mahan was in command of the 
U.S.S. Wachusett on the Pacific Station, and replied 
as follows : 

" ' U.S.S. " Wachusett," Guayaquil, 
" 'September 4, 1884. 

" ' I should like the position — like it probably very 
much. I believe I have the capacity and perhaps some 
inherited aptitude for the particular study ; but I do 
not, on questioning myself, find that now I have the 
special accurate knowledge that I should think necessary. 
I fear you give me credit for knowing more than I do, 
and having given a special attention to the subject 
which I have not. 

" ' I take it the subject proposed to me involves an 
amount of historical narrative, especially directed 



30 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE [chap, iv 

toward showing the causes of failure and success, and 
thus enforcing certain general principles. Whether 
to this is to be added any attempt at evolving systems 
of tactics applicable to modern naval warfare, I don't 
understand ; but I suppose by naval tactics you 
scarcely mean a reproduction of Parker. Taking 
simply the first subject, as I turn over in my mind 
the naval battles, and naval and mixed expeditions, 
scattered through history, and think how little I know 
about them in detail, the work assumes very great 
proportions. To look up the authorities, master them, 
and digest and arrange the material thus acquired, 
bring together examples illustrating the same lessons, 
above all the criticism, every one of these steps is big. 
Yet, if I rightly understand the subject, no less could 
be considered adequate treatment. And then how 
large a mass must be gone through and in the end 
found useless. ... As to preparation here on board 
ship it is impossible. I have looked through the 
[ship's] library and find little material and less that 
is first-rate. I can go through it all in a few weeks. 
Besides, I should have to give my whole mind to the 
matter, which in command [of a ship] is impossible. 
No man is less able to serve two masters. . . . My 
reply to you then is " yes " — I should like to come, if, 
after reading my letter, you still wish it. Indeed 
I don't think I would be right in refusing to help in 
a new, difficult, and most needful work, if, in the judgment 
of others, I can be useful. Meantime, ... I will work 
up what is at hand as though the matter were settled.' 

" The Advent of Captain Mahan 

" This modest but carefully self-appraising letter from 
Captain Mahan is the first link between the College 
and the man, later to be so closely identified. The 
College gave Captain Mahan his opportunity, and the 
genius of Captain Mahan reflected honor on the 
College. The needs of the College for text-books 
produced Captain Mahan' s Influence of Sea Power on 
History , which brought fame to him, and by | some 
was credited with saving the College. However this 



1885] ARRIVAL AT WAR COLLEGE 31 

may be, it is certain that Captain Mahan's Sea Power y 
produced by the necessities of the College, gained 
earlier and more extensive recognition than the College. 
Captain Mahan has generously recorded his debt to 
the College for furnishing him the opportunity, and his 
personal appreciation of Admiral Luce, through whose 
efforts the great opportunity came." 

Mahan was assigned to the Naval War College in 1885, 
and a recital of the acts of petty ofiicial opposition from 
which it suffered for some years thereafter would be 
humorous were it not pathetic. It is hardly possible 
after examining the archives to escape the conviction 
that, at this particular period, jealousy was one of the 
besetting sins of some of the higher officers of the 
American Navy, and undoubtedly Mahan suffered 
in no small measure from the effects of that malign 
influence which blindfolds the intellect and closes 
the door of the heart. At the present day, when 
hundreds of millions of dollars are cheerfully voted by 
Congress for naval requirements, it is difficult if not 
impossible to realise the pitiful expedients to which 
Mahan was driven, to keep the War College alive in 
the absence of Admiral Luce, who was at this time 
appointed to the command of the North Atlantic Fleet. 
In 1887 a miserable appropriation of $8,000 was refused, 
and, in their extremity, he and his friends resorted 
to the sale of odd bits of material left over from some 
previous repairs to the building. These they collected 
and disposed of for about a hundred dollars, which they 
expended in maintenance from day to day. It was 
only by an oversight in the Department which gave 
the requisite authority that some coal for heating 
the building in the winter was put in the cellars before 
it was discovered that there was no appropriation for 
it! 

There was but one lamp 1 Picture to yourself, therefore, 
the spectacle of the coming international naval authority 



32 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE [chap, iv 

groping his way from room to room by the aid of this 
soHtary Hght in company with his colleague Captain 
Tasker Bhss, since Chief of the Staff of the armies of 
the United States and representative of America on 
the Allied War Council in Paris. 

With the assistance of an enthusiastic friend, Captain 
McCarty Little, who subsequently devoted over a 
quarter of a century to the College and whose skill 
and enthusiasm contributed in great measure to the 
success of the famous war games, the necessary maps 
for the lectures were devised, the lonely lamp again 
fitfully shedding its sympathetic rays on their evening 
handiwork. Battle plans, too, with ships-of-war cut 
out of cardboard appropriately coloured to represent 
the opposing fleets and ready for instant manoeuvring, 
were specially evolved by Mahan for the purpose of 
demonstration. Among others who contributed to the 
excellent series of lectures which distinguished the 
second season of the College were Professor Soley, 
afterwards Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and 
Captain Tasker Bliss. 

The United States Naval Training Station considered 
the College an intruder on its grounds and hotly resented 
its presence there. In From Sail to Steam Mahan has 
in these words perpetuated the memory of Captain 
Arthur Yates, who, as aide to Admiral Farragut, had 
taken part in the battle of Mobile Bay : 

" One most alleviating circumstance was the 
commandant of the training station, the local enemy, 
one of the born saints of the earth, Arthur Yates. 
Officially, of course he disapproved of us ; professional 
self-respect and precedent, bureau allegiance, and all 
the rest of it, were outraged ; but when it came to 
deeds, Yates could not have imagined an unkind act, 
much less done it. Nor did he stop there ; good-will 
with him was not a negative but an active quality. 
What we wanted he would always do, and then go 



1888] SECRETARY WHITNEY'S ORDER 33 

one better, if he could find a way to add to our conveni- 
ence ; and when we ultimately came to grief, after his 
departure, he wrote me a letter of condolence." 

The prevailing trend of opinion as to the value of 
the past as a guide for present and future naval strategy 
is aptly reflected in this recollection of Mahan's in 
From Sail to Steam : 

" I well recall, during my first term at the College, 
a visit from a reporter of one of the principal New 
York journals. He was a man of rotund presence, 
florid face, thrown-back head, and flowing hair, with 
all that magisterial condescension which the environ- 
ment of the Fourth Estate nourishes in its fortunate 
members ; the Roman citizen was ' not in it ' for 
birthright. To my bad luck a plan of Trafalgar hung 
in evidence, as he stalked from room to room. ' Ah,' 
he said, with superb up-to-date pity, ' you are still 
talking about Trafalgar ' ; and I could see that Trafalgar 
and I were thenceforth on the top shelf of fossils in 
the collections of his memory." 

The short-sighted opposition to the College at that 
time doubtless had its origin in politics, and it is now 
hard to realise that it emanated from such men as 
Mr. Whitney, then Secretary of the Navy, and Mr. 
Herbert, Chairman of the House Naval Committee ; 
but it is only fair to record that Mr. Herbert, as Secretary 
of the Navy, in later years learned to recognise the 
importance of the College. 

The climax of their difficulties came in 1888, when, 
after successfully obtaining from Congress an appropria- 
tion of ten thousand dollars, against strong official 
opposition, they received their knockout blow through 
an order from Secretary Whitney depriving the 
College of its building and placing it under the 
Commander of the Torpedo Station on another island, 
thus practically destroying for the time being its 
independent existence, to which, however, it was for- 



34 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE [chap, iv 

tunately restored in the next administration by Secretary 
Tracy, whose sagacity saved the situation. An appro- 
priation of one hundred thousand dollars for a building 
sealed its destiny as a permanent institution, for the 
ultimate establishment of which the nation owes a debt 
of gratitude to the efforts of Alfred Thayer Mahan, 
whose pluck and perseverance saved it from extinction 
in the early days of its spasmodic career. 

Mahan was again to save the College in a still more 
dramatic manner some five years later. In August 
1893 Secretary Herbert left Washington on board the 
Dolphin to visit Newport with the intention of abolishing 
the War College. Through the instrumentality of 
Captain McCalla, a good friend of the College, Mr. 
Herbert's attention was adroitly drawn by the Com- 
mander of the Dolphin, Lieutenant Buckingham, to 
Mahan' s recently published Influence of Sea Power 
upon the French Revolution and Empire, with the result 
that Mr. Herbert, on the return voyage to Washington, 
told Lieutenant Buckingham that although he had 
meant to break up the War College, he considered 
Mahan' s book alone worth all the money that was being 
spent on it, and that he intended to do all he could to 
assist it. Thus did Mahan for the second time save the 
College from extinction, and he had the gratification of 
receiving the following letter from Mr. Herbert : 



Captain A. T. Mahan, 

"U.S.S. Chicaao. 



" Navy Depaetment, Washington, 
" October 4, 1893. 



" My dear Captain, 

" Permit me to thank you for your kind letter, 
and to tell you of my change of opinion as to the War 
College, after inspecting the War College building 
personally, and carefully reading the two articles by 
you upon the subject, and also your two volumes upon 
The Influence of Sea Power on the French Revolution. 



1888] OFFICIAL RECOGNITION 35 

" In my opinion, you deserve all the encomiums of 
the British and American Press for this great work. 
Aside from your masterly illustration- of the influence 
of England's sea power in bringing about the defeat 
of Napoleon and his schemes, I look upon your work 
as by far the ablest history I have ever read of the 
epoch from 1792 to 1812. 

" Your vindication of the wisdom of Mr. Pitt's policy 
is complete, and although I have not read even a 
modicum of what has been written upon the subject, 
yet I make no doubt you present the most comprehen- 
sive view possible to be taken of the era within the 
limits you have allowed yourself in your work. 

" You have conferred great honor, not only upon 
the American Navy, but also upon your country. 
I have also run over your first volume, and am particu- 
larly struck with your citations from history of the 
comparatively little effect of commerce destroyers in 
bringing the war to a successful conclusion, and expect 
to use in my forthcoming report the information you 
have therein set forth in my arguments for the building 
of battleships. 

"So far I have been so very much occupied with 
other matters that I have not been able to bestow 
much attention upon the reorganisation of the War 
College. I shall take this matter in hand soon, and bear 
in mind your commendation of Commander Taylor. 
" Very sincerely yours, 

" Hilary A. Herbert." 

Commander H. C. Taylor was duly appointed President 
and became a stalwart champion of the College, the 
recognised importance of which at the present day is 
such that aspirants for high command in the great 
American fleet of the future will find themselves seriously 
handicapped unless they have availed themselves of the 
priceless and indispensable advantages it offers.^ 

1 The writer takes this opportunity of expressing his warm thanks 
to Admiral Oman, Commandant of the District, to Commodore Parker, 
President of the War College, and to Dr. Edwin Wiley, the Librarian, 
for their many courtesies, and for extending to him the privileges of 

4, 



36 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE [chap, iv 

As those whose hostihty nearly wrecked the Naval 
War College have gone to their long rest, it may be 
permissible to record that its history from 1884 to 1896 
was a series of conflicts between two bodies of officers, 
one intent on establishing the College and the other 
determined upon its destruction. Three times these 
marplots nearly succeeded. Twice it was saved by 
Mahan and once by the patience and diplomacy of 
Commander Taylor. The Navy as a whole in those 
days was cold and indifferent towards it and sceptical 
as to its value, owing partly to ignorance and partly 
to prejudice. Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, who, as Assistant 
Secretary of the Navy, did so much towards preparing 
the Navy for its good work in the Spanish- American 
war and whose history of the war of 1812 is highly 
thought of, was always a stalwart friend to the College. 

Under the enthusiastic support and encouragement 
of Secretary Daniels the College has grown and prospered, 
until at the time of the declaration of war in 1917 it 
was a mighty influence for good. Some fifty student- 
officers of the higher grades were pursuing a twelve- 
months' course and four hundred and fifty naval officers 
of various grades were enjoying the immense advantage 
of a correspondence course. No one perhaps of recent 
years has contributed more than Admiral Knight to the 
success of these studies, the object of which is not, as 
is sometimes erroneously assumed, to provide a post- 
graduate course of technical naval instruction. The 
College exists for the definite and specific purpose of 
qualifying higher-grade officers of the United States 
Navy in the science of strategy and the art of conducting 
war, in order to render them fit to advise upon national 
naval policy, and at a moment's notice to take effectual 

the Library, which proved invaluable in the pleasant task of writing 
part of this book. The author also records his grateful appreciation 
of the welcome assistance of the chief clerk and members of the War 
College staS. 



1888] WAR COLLEGE BUILDING 37 

command of important units of the fleet in the myriad 
contingencies of actual warfare. 

The accompanying reproduction of tlie War College 
building, which is of grey granite, mellowed by thick 
patches of Virginia creeper, gives a fair idea of its 
impressive character, but gives no conception of 
its incomparable site, nor does it show the beauty 
of its sloping lawns approached by a driveway banked 
on either side with immense clusters of hydrangeas, their 
daintily coloured blossoms in such luxuriance as the 
soil of Rhode Island exults to produce. It was built 
in 1891-2, in the days when Admiral, then Captain, 
Bunce was Commandant of the District ; and the plans, 
which had been approved by Mahan before he left for 
Puget Sound, were carried out under the supervision of 
Captain, now Admiral, Stockton, then President of 
the College.! 

^ As I write, the naval clock outside strikes eight bells. May I 
digress for a moment to describe the fascinating sights and sounds 
which greet me on my daily walk from " Faisneau," the attractive house 
of Mrs. Rogers in Washington Street, to the library of the War College, 
so considerately placed at my disposal by the courteous naval authori- 
ties ? 

Imagine an immense panorama of rippling blue water aglow in the 
sunshine and reflecting a cloudless azure sky, the calm broken from 
time to time by the quick-step strains of one of the naval bands. 
Picture to yourself a plateau, rising to an eminence on the very summit 
of which, surrounded by stretches of well-kept turf, stands the Naval 
War College. Ever and anon the exhilarating call of a bugle clarions 
through the perfect Newport atmosphere, and in the foreground that 
old warrior, the Constellation, her stormy, century-old career ended, 
rides majestically at anchor in the placid waters of Coasters Harbour, 
with sail-less yards proudly squared as if to say to her gallant 
French adversaries, " All old scores are forgotten. J'y suis 
et i'y reste " ; while from the drill grounds on the adjacent land re- 
echoes that most heart-stirring of all sounds, the tramp of marching 
men, their dark blue sweaters contrasting vividly with their white 
breeches and gaiters and swinging in faultless rhythm to the stimu- 
lating tattoo of the naval drums. Who could fail to be impressed by 
the influence of such surroundings enhanced a hundredfold by the 
presence of those twelve thousand jolly, sturdy, sun-tanned boys, 
bulwarks of Uncle Sam's ever-growing fleet. — C. C. T. 



38 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE [chap, iv 

When Admiral Luce was appointed to the command 
of the North Atlantic Fleet in 1886, Mahan, who had 
now been promoted to Captain, succeeded him as 
President of the College, in which capacity he acted 
with distinction for three years. His first incumbency 
of this honourable post was, however, abruptly cut 
short by Secretary Whitney,^ who named him President 
of a Committee to choose a site for a navy yard in 
Puget Sound, three thousand miles away ! ^ 

During this visit to the West a new administration 
came in with President Plarrison, under whom the War 
College once more came into favour. A course of 
instruction was held at the Torpedo Station, and the 
series of lectures prepared under these difficult conditions 
and delivered by Mahan in four disjointed sessions of 
the War College from 1886 to 1889, formed the nucleus 

^ " I never knew, nor cared, just why Whitney took this course, 
but I afterwards had an amusing experience with him showing how 
men forget. In later years he and I were members of a dining-club 
in New York. I then had had my success and recognition. One 
evening I chanced to say to him, apropos of what I do not now recall 
' It was at the time, you know, that you sent Sampson to the Naval 
Academy and Goodi-ich to the Torpedo Station.' ' Yes,' he rejoined 
complacently ; ' and I sent you to the War College.' It was literally 
true, doubtless ; his act, though not his selection ; but in view of the 
cold comfort and the petard with which he there favored me, for 
Whitney to fancy himself a patron to me, except on a Johnsonian 
definition of the word, was as humorous a performance as I have 
known." — From Sail to Steam. 

2 " So I went to Puget Sound, a very pleasant as well as interesting 
experience ; for, having a government tender at our disposal, we 
penetrated by daylight to every corner of that beautiful sheet of 
water, the intricate windings of which prepare a continual series of 
surprises ; each scene like the last, yet different ; the successive 
resemblances of a family wherein aU the members are lovely, yet 
individual. 

'* We selected the site where the yard now stands, in a singularly 
well-protected inlet on the western side of the main arm, with an 
anchorage of very moderate depth and easy current for Puget Sound. 
Our judgment was challenged and another commission sent out. 
This confirmed our choice, but very much less land was secured than 
we had advised." — From Sail to Steam, 



1889] GENESIS OF SEA POWER BOOKS 39 

of the immortal work which, under the title of The 
Influence of Sea Power upon History, was eventually 
to wield so unprecedented an authority in the world, 
and to become a mighty lever in determining the naval 
policies of the Great Powers, thereby shaping the very 
destines of the leading nations of the earth. 



CHAPTER V 

SEA POWER 

" Mahan has made it impossible for anyone to treat of Sea Power 
without frequent references to his writings and conclusions. 

" Mahan's opinions govern the naval thought of the world." — 
Admiral Sir Cyprjan Bridge, R.N. 

These are the words of the eminent naval authority 
who was Chief InteUigence Officer at the British 
Admiralty, and was chosen to bear the responsibility 
for the articles on Sea Power and Command of the Sea 
in the Encycloycedia Britannica, 

Some twenty centuries ago that remarkable Greek 
historian Thucydides recognised the significance of Sea 
Power, and urged upon his countrymen the importance 
of obtaining command of the sea. In this he was the 
forerunner of Mahan, and none more worthy. Old 
Thucydides had one paramount ambition. He wanted 
his work to endure, not as the " rhetorical triumph 
of an hour, but as a possession for ever." It has. 
It is nearly two thousand years since Plutarch visited 
his tomb in Athens, in which he had already lain some 
four hundred years, and it is pleasant to hark back 
to those far-distant days of the vanished past, and to 
realise the remarkable fact that the twentieth century 
is still talking about him and has recorded in the words 
of Freeman that " there is hardly a problem in the 
science of government which the statesman will not find, 
if not solved, at any rate handled, in the pages of this 
universal master." 

40 



1890] EARLY ADVOCATES OF SEA POWER 41 

Since early days in Britain, which, according to 
an " antient document," was first known as Clas 
Merdin, " the sea-defended green spot," ^ sea power 
has been extolled by far-sighted patriots, among others 
King Offa of Mercia, who in the eighth century is said 
to have declared that " he who would be secure at home 
must be supreme at sea" ; and a fifteenth-century bard, 
memorialising the sea as the safeguard of England and 
her commerce, wrote : 

" For foure things our Noble sheweth to me. 
King, Ship and Swerd and power of the sea. 
Keep then the sea that is the wall of England, 
And then is England kept by Goddes own hande." 

Raleigh and Bacon's historic advocacy of sea power 
was echoed by their great rival Sir Edward Coke,^ 
and found its most eloquent exponent in Shakespeare,' 
who spoke of England as " bound in with the triumphant 
sea." 

These intellectual giants were in turn succeeded by 
a brilliant array of lesser lights, from Halifax and St. 
Loe and Campbell in the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries down to more recent times, in which, as 
exponents of the power of the sea, the names of 
Tennyson and Kipling, Colomb and Laughton, among 
many others, shine resplendent. 

Other writers, too, have since used the term " sea 

^ Cambro-Briton, vol. i. 

* " The King's Navy exceeds aU others in the world for three things, 
viz., beauty, strength, and safety. For beauty, they are so many 
palaces ; for strength so many moving castles and barbicans ; and 
for safety, they are the most defensive walls of the realm. Among 
the ships of other nations, they are like lions among silly beasts, or 
falcons amongst fearful fowle." 

3 " This fortress built by Nature for herself 
Against infection and the hand of war ; 
This happy breed of men, this little world, 
This precious stone set in the silver sea. 
Which serves it in the office of a wall. 
Or as a moat defensive to a house. 
Against the envy of less happier lands." 



42 SEA POWER [chap, v 

power," but to Mahan is due the modern conception 
of sea power and all that those two fateful (and some- 
times significantly hyphenated) words imply, and, 
incredible as it may appear, he was in the first instance 
impelled to adopt his unique treatment of the subject 
by a realisation of the astonishing fact that the world's 
historians had failed to recognise and record the mighty 
influence which maritime affairs had for centuries 
exerted upon the fate of nations. 

In a letter to Mr. R. B. Marston, his London publisher, 
in 1897, he said : 

" I may say that the term ' sea power,' which now 
has such vogue, was deliberately adopted by me to 
compel attention, and, I hoped, to receive currency. 
I deliberately discarded the adjective ' maritime,' 
being too smooth to arrest men's attention or stick 
in their minds. 

" ' Sea power,' in English at least, seems to have 
come to stay in the sense I used it. ' The sea Powers ' 
were often spoken of before, but in an entirely different 
manner — not to express, as I meant, at once an abstract 
conception and a concrete fact." 

The following letter shows the original conception 
of The Influence of Sea Power upon History : 

" 2 East 15th Stkeet, 

" January 22, 1886. 

" My dear Admiral, 

" With regard to my course of lectures my ideas 
have not yet attained the precision which I would like 
to throw into my reply to you. In a general way they 
are these : I think to begin with a general consideration 
of the sea, its uses to mankind and to nations, the effect 
which the control of it or the reverse has upon their 
peaceful development and upon their military strength. 
This will naturally lead to, and probably embrace in 
the same lecture, a consideration of the sources of 
Sea Power, whether commercial or military ; depending 
upon the position of the particular country, the character 



1890] THE ORIGINAL LECTURES 43 

of its coast, its harbors, the character and pursuits 
of its people, its possession of miHtary ports in various 
parts of the world, its colonies, etc., its resources in 
the length and breadth of the word. After such a 
general statement of the various elements of the problem, 
illustrated of course by specific examples, the path 
would be cleared for naval history. There are a good 
many phases of naval history. I have been led, and 
I think, on the whole, happily led, to take up that period 
succeeding the Peace of Westphalia, 1648, when the 
nations of Europe began clearly to enter on and occupy 
their modern position, struggling for existence and 
preponderance. I have carefully followed up this 
period both in respect of naval history and the general 
struggles of Europe ; for it has seemed to me, with 
reference to my subject, that the attempt to violently 
separate the naval history from that context will be 
something — to capsize a proverb — like Hamlet with 
all but the part of Hamlet left out. 

" I have nearly finished, within a week's work, this 
general consideration down to 1783. With the purely 
naval history of the great wars of the Republic and the 
Empire I believe myself already sufficiently familiar ; 
with the general history less so ; but I think I can 
' get it up ' in comparatively short time. Now I believe 
myself to have a good working knowledge of most of 
all the important naval campaigns of the years 1660- 
1815 and the tactics of the various battles. 

" Of course the question thrusts itself forward : 
under all the changed conditions of naval warfare 
of what use is the knowledge of these bygone days ? 
Here I am, frankly, a little at sea how to point my 
moral. I have stuff enough to work up several popular 
lectures, but how to turn this into instructive material 
for the future ? I have not really had time to settle 
this, and I have steadily refused to consider more than 
the one thing at a time. There are here and there, 
however, glimmers of light. 

For instance, strategy, as distinguished from tactics, 
will have plenty of illustration ; the advantages and 
disadvantages of the possession of Sea Power and its 
effects upon specific campaigns must always possess 



44 SEA POWER [chap, v 

useful lessons. Ships will no longer tack nor wear ; 
but they must turn round sometimes ; and I fancy that 
some thought expended upon the difficulties and 
confusion that may be thrown into an enemy's line, 
or other order, by forcing them to a change of order 
in action will have some fruit in the consideration of 
naval tactics in action ; and I believe that knowledge 
of the great battles between sailing fleets will help 
in the solution of the problem. There will, too, always 
remain the great moral lessons, the most important 
lessons to my mind and amply illustrated, of the 
preponderance gained by activity, promptness, watch- 
fulness, care, foresight, and attention to details. More 
and more it has forced itself upon my mind that the 
reason one fleet is better than another has been, and 
probably always will be, because its components, 
ship for ship, captain for captain, crew for crew, were 
better. Without pressing this view unguardedly or 
to extreme, I think it is most true relatively to an army, 
a land force. The admiral will not, nearly so far, make 
or mar as the general. 

" By Feb. 1st I expect to begin with Jomini, etc., 
and having naval conditions constantly before my mind, 
I shall hope to detect analogies ; and with an admirable 
system of one kind of war before me to contribute 
something to the development of a systematic study 
of war in another field. 

" Whether I can accomplish anything more in the 
matter of naval history of other epochs this year I 
cannot say ; it is scarcely worth considering at present. 
I am working to my full capacity, and have to feel that 
that is less than it was, so I don't look far ahead. 

" As I said in my last letter, don't be withheld by 
any thought of my course from getting any useful help 
for the College that you can. I would like this letter, 
however, to be confidential, in case any of my thunder 
should turn out to be real thunder. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" A. T. Mahan. 
" Rear- Admiral S. B. Luce, 
" Naval War College, 

"Newport, R.I." 



1890] THE FIRST MASTERPIECE 45 

The above letter was written over four months before 
Mahan put pen to paper on the lectures which resulted 
in the books. 

The Influence of Sea Power' upon History 1660-1783 
was published in May 1890. Its success was immediate, 
and increased as time went on. It was translated 
into the languages of many countries. Mahan was 
deluged with congratulatory letters from leading 
authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, and eulogistic 
reviews of the book appeared by the score in the columns 
of the most prominent and influential papers and 
periodicals of the day, one historical treatise, by Professor 
Laughton, in the Edinburgh Review ^ extending to thirty- 
two pages. With characteristic alertness Mr. Theodore 
Roosevelt, then a Civil Service Commissioner in Washing- 
ton, wrote Mahan a few days after the book made its 
appearance : 

" During the last two days I have spent half my 
time, busy as I am, in reading your book. That I found 
it interesting is shown by the fact that having taken 
it up, I have gone straight through and finished it. 

" I can say with perfect sincerity that I think it 
very much the clearest and most instructive general 
work of the kind with which I am acquainted. It is 
a very good book — admirable ; and I am greatly in 
error if it does not become a classic." 

Among others, too numerous to mention, who wrote 
personal notes were Admiral Walker, Admiral Goodrich, 
Admiral Sampson, Admiral Luce, Admiral Schley, and 
Captain Barnes, all of the United States Navy ; Admiral 
of the Fleet Sir Gerard Noel, Admiral of the Fleet Sir 
Geoffrey Phipps Hornby, Admiral Lord Charles Beres- 
ford. Admiral Sir Augustus Phillimore, Admiral Sir 
Cyprian Bridge, and Admiral Sir Edmund Fremantle, 

1 The late Sir John Laughton was Professor of Modern History at 
King's College, University of London, and Lecturer on Naval History 
at the Royal Naval College. 



46 SEA POWER [chap, v 

of the British Navy ; Edward Everett Hale, Sir WiUiam 
Laird Clowes (then Naval Editor of the London Times), 
Senator Lodge, Mr. Thomas Gibson Bowles, and Sir 
George Clarke (now Lord Sydenham). 

Admiral Luce, President of the Naval War College, 
had this to say of it : 

" This is an altogether exceptional work ; there is 
nothing like it in the whole range of naval literature. 
No other author with whom we are acquainted has 
ever undertaken to treat the subject in such a liberal, 
not to say philosophical spirit, or to weave the story 
of the Navy and its achievements into the affairs of 
State so as to bring out its value as a factor of national 
life. The work is entirely original in conception, 
masterful in construction, and scholarly in execution." 

Lord Roberts, beloved soldier of imperishable memory, 
publicly announced that The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History had given him more pleasure than any 
book he had read for many years. 

Gladstone is said to have regarded it as one of the 
greatest of modern books ; and the London Times in 
a lengthy review said of it : 

" The really great book which is the subject of this 
notice altogether carries away the palm in clearness 
and depth of thought, in breadth of view, and in purity 
of style. The book is by no means addressed to the 
naval officer only, though for him it is as a gleam of 
light from a dull sky. But it is the public man, above 
all the public man who is directly or indirectly concerned 
in the defences of the Empire, who should read and 
ponder over this fine work." 

The distinguished Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey 
Phipps Hornby wrote : 

" Your book on Naval History in the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries will be specially valuable, as 
tending to reduce a dearth which I, in common I 



1890] RECOGNITION 47 

suppose with all naval students, have ever felt for 
authoritative works that will elucidate questions of 
naval strategy and tactics. It is only by the industry 
and talent of experts, who will collate and reason 
on past events, that we can hope to possess such a 
literature as our military brethren enjoy on kindred 
topics." 

Eight years after its publication the President of 
the Liverpool Philomathic Society, at the opening of 
its seventy-fourth annual session in 1898, chose it as 
the subject of his inaugural address and referred to it 
in these words : 

" The shifting of the mental balance in some millions 
of human beings by a single book is so rare a phenomenon 
that when we come across such a portent in everyday 
life it behoves us to regard it curiously. 

"It is the peculiar merit of Captain Mahan that 
in analysing the effect of Sea Power upon the 
development of nations, he has also lifted the 
curtain upon other important factors. The principal 
object of his books has been to disseminate the idea 
and demonstrate the potency of Sea Power. This he 
has done in so effective a manner that Sea Power is 
now a household word. A new phraseology has grown 
up in connection with this subject. The language 
has been enriched by various phrases which express 
the novel aspects of this new line of thought. He has 
revealed, with a suddenness which is quite startling, 
that the growth and prosperity of nations depends 
largely upon Sea Power and its concomitants — ships, 
colonies, and commerce. National destiny, as we study 
Captain Mahan' s volumes, appears to take for us more 
tangible proportions." 

There has been a certain amount of contention as to 
whether originality could be claimed for Mahan' s works. 
Originality in the bulk of the matter presented there 
is not, but in the manner in which it is presented 
there assuredly is. How great a difference is represented 



48 SEA POWER [chap, v 

by those two little letters. The argument for orginality 
lies in the answer to these questions : By whom had 
there been previously given to the world such an analysis 
of the historical influence of the mastery of the sea ? 
Can anyone be named before Mahan's day who may 
be said to have comprehensively dealt with the subject 
of Naval Strategy ? 

Personally Mahan made no public claim to originality, 
but he was of a surprisingly modest and diffident nature, 
as an instance of which, in a letter to his London 
pubhsher, Mr. Marston, in 1897, he says : 

" It may seem odd to you, but I do not to this day 
understand my success. I had done what I intended ; 
I recognise that people have attributed to me a great 
success, and have given to me abundant recognition. 
I enjoy it and am grateful, but for the most part, I do 
not myself appreciate the work up to the measure 
expressed by others." 

He claimed, however, originality for the inspiration 
of his method of interpreting Sea Power. He has left 
this on record : 

" Not to mention other predecessors with a full roll 
of whose names I am even now unacquainted. Bacon 
and Raleigh three centuries before had epitomised in 
a few words the theme on which I was to write volumes. 
That they had done so was indeed then unknown to 
me. For me as for them the light dawned first on my 
inner consciousness ; I owed it to no other man." 

In Mahan's case the process of evolution was : (1) the 
trend of thought, (2) the opportunity, (3) the inspira- 
tion, (4) the hard work, (5) the lectures, (6) the master- 
piece. Mr. Edison is credited with a definition of 
genius as being one-tenth inspiration and nine-tenths 
perspiration, in other words, hard work ; and Mahan's 
well-merited success teaches the same lesson : labor 
omnia vincit. 



1892] THE SECOND MASTERPIECE 49 

The recognition afforded his first Sea Power volume 
encouraged him to renewed efforts. He began with 
wide study of the general history of the period ; of 
Jomini's Wars of the French Republic, Napoleon's Corre- 
spondence and Commentaries, Thiers' s History of the 
Consulate and Empire, and the speeches of Pitt and 
Fox. He studied too the effects of sea power in the 
Peloponnesian War, and collected from Livy and others 
details of naval occurrences while Hannibal was in 
Italy. In his own words : 

" My outlook was thus enlarged, not upon military 
matters only, but by an appreciation of the strength 
of Athens, broad based upon an extensive system of 
maritime commerce. This prepared me to see in the 
continental system of Napoleon the direct outcome of 
Great Britain's maritime supremacy, and the ultimate 
cause of his own ruin. Thus, while gathering matter, 
a conception was forming which became the dominant 
feature in my scheme by the time I began to write in 
earnest." 

As a result of two years' steady application he gave 
to the world The Influence of Sea Power upon the French 
Revolution and Empire, which carried the story up to 
1812, and by some has been considered a greater work 
than The Influence of Sea Power upon History, because, 
as that noted naval critic Sir John Laughton has 
explained, the — 

" latter was addressed mainly to professional readers, 
and appealed only incidentally to the general public; 
the former, important as it is to naval officers, is 
still more so to the statesman, the administrator, the 
shipowner, the merchant, and the tradesman." 

He sagely adds : 

" In fact the only man, or type of man in England, 
to whom it will not prove of the deepest interest, is 



50 SEA POWER [chap, v 

the pseudo-politician whose theory of public affairs is 
summed up in the maxim that whatever is English is 
wrong. To such a man — and, unfortunately, we have 
too many among us — we can conceive the book acting 
rather as an irritant, a blister — wholesome it may be, 
but painful ; for, though written by one whom untoward 
circumstances have constituted a foreigner, and whom 
education has taught to regard English affairs with an 
impartial eye, the book is throughout a splendid apothe- 
osis of English courage and English endurance, of English 
skill and of English power, the more splendid, the more 
glorious, as these are put forward not as a matter of 
boasting or of laudation, but philosophically, scientifi- 
cally, as illustrating propositions in naval strategy or 
in commercial war." 

That picturesque Irishman Judge William O'Connor 
Morris, critic and historian, who was a happy mixture 
of many of the most attractive Irish and English 
qualities, wrote Mahan from Gartnamona, TuUamore, 
that he had read The Influence of Sea Power upon the 
French Revolution and Empire with the deepest interest 
and the greatest admiration ; that in his opinion nothing 
equal to it in naval history had ever been written, and 
that Captain Mahan was the only writer who had 
brought out one feature of great importance, namely 
Napoleon's flanking operations to withdraw the British 
Fleet from their central position. This he considered an 
excellent point and in conformity with Napoleon's 
strategy. 

The naval critic of the London Times fitly expressed 
the popular verdict in these words : 

" Captain Mahan has now continued his studies and 
his expositions of the same theme in the present work, 
which deals with the Revolutionary and Napoleonic 
wars, with the history of that great school of naval 
strategy and warfare which was founded by Lord St. 
Vincent and brought to its highest pitch of glory by 
the consummate genius of Nelson. Of the way in which 



1892] APPROVAL OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT 51 

this great theme is treated by the author of The Influ- 
ence of Sea Power upon History we need say Httle, no 
living writer is so well qualified to do- it justice as Cap- 
tain Mahan, and certainly the true significance of the 
tremendous events of those momentous years has never 
been more luminously or more instructively displayed." 

The practical utility of the Sea Power books was 
immensely enhanced by the fact that they contained 
priceless lessons, not only for statesmen and naval 
commanders, but also for military authorities. The 
following memorandum submitted by the Aide-de-Camp 
to the General Officer commanding at the time, Decem- 
ber 8, 1892, reflects the opinion of the United States 
War Department as to the special value of Mahan' s 
doctrines as demonstrating the influence of sea power 
upon, and in conjunction with, military operations on 
land : 

" About two years ago Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S. 
Navy, President of the Naval War College, published a 
work entitled The Influence of Sea Power upon History. 
He, at that time, wrote me a letter in similar terms 
with the one attached to this memorandum, and which 
I, as in the present case, submitted to the Major-General 
Commanding for such action as he should choose to 
recommend to the W^ar Department. Upon the recom- 
mendation of the Major-General Commanding, the War 
Department subscribed for 100 copies of the work. 
The Department received the full money value of its 
subscription. The book was universally admitted to be 
one of singular merit. In foreign service journals and 
high-class non-professional periodicals it was reviewed 
in the highest terms. It was supplied by the British 
Government to the libraries of cruising ships. It was 
well worthy the study of the land officers of our own 
service as showing the inseparable connection of mutual 
dependence between land and sea armies during the 
great military operations of the last two hundred years. 

" Captain Mahan is now about to publish a second 
volume in the series tracing the influence of sea power 

5 



52 SEA POWER [chap, v 

upon the French Revolution, the series to be concluded 
at some future time with a volume treating the war of 
1812 in a similar manner. 

" In view of the great success of the former volume, 
due to its recognised merits, I would respectfully 
suggest the propriety of the Department's giving its 
subscription for a hundred or more copies of Captain 
Mahan's second volume entitled The Influence of Sea 
Power upon the French Revolution. The publishers are 
Messrs. Little, Brown & Co. of Boston." 

The more closely Mahan's masterpieces are examined, 
the deeper becomes the feeling of admiration. The 
almost incredible amount of reading and research, and 
the accuracy and tenacity of the memory which retained 
so stupendous a store of information, transcend the 
imagination. 

The lessons they taught were new. 

The lessons they taught were of world-wide applica- 
tion. 

The lessons they taught appealed to the greatest 
minds in all countries. 

For the first time the rulers of the earth learned 
actively to realise and appreciate the true significance 
of the control of the highways of the sea. 



CHAPTER VI 

FARRAGUT 

" He stands eminent among the naval men of his time for skill, 
heroism, and grand force of character." — William O'Connor Morris. 

Both the Life of Farragut and The Influence of Sea 
Power upon the French Revolution and Empire were 
written between 1890 and 1892 during a fortunate 
period of freedom from official duties, the sessions at 
the Naval War College, of which Mahan was again 
appointed President in 1892, being temporarily sus- 
pended. In his own words, " The College slumbered 
and I worked." 

From time immemorial the patrician mothers of 
Britain have been wont to consecrate to the naval 
service of the State their little male offspring at the 
tender age of thirteen ; but never surely was there so 
infantile a naval officer as David Farragut, who, Mahan 
records, was a midshipman at nine, and was actually 
at sea on active service when he was ten years old. It 
was hardly surprising that on his first voyage, overcome 
with fatigue, he was found asleep on watch. This 
dereliction of duty, however, which in time of war 
carries with it condign punishment, was compassion- 
ately regarded by the humane lieutenant of the watch, 
afterwards Commodore Bolton, who covered the child 
with his own jacket to protect him from the night air. 
As midshipman of the commander's gig, he was at ten 
years of age the tiny hero of a lively scuffle on shore, 
and as " officer in charge " was bound over to keep the 
peace ; when twelve years old he was sent in charge of 

53 



54 FARRAGUT [chap, vi 

a prize, doubtless with an old seaman as nurse, but still 
in full command. 

In character Farragut had much in common with 
Mahan, being of a deeply religious nature, modest and 
unassuming. Similarly he was a restless seeker after 
knowledge, and being blest with a good memory, he 
was successful in his lifelong efforts to achieve self- 
improvement. He also resembled Mahan in his unusual 
physical activity at an advanced age. 

The Life of Admiral Farragut was contributed to the 
" Great Commander " series edited by General James 
Grant Wilson, who was responsible for the Life of General 
Grant. The book was well received. With skill and 
accuracy Mahan gave to posterity the dramatic story 
of the heroic doings of a fearless American sailor, who 
was, moreover, a ijian of unimpeachable character, and 
who, impelled by his devotion to the Union, and over- 
coming the opposition and scepticism levelled against 
him by reason of his being a Southerner by birth and 
association, became the hero of Mobile Bay, and the 
greatest of the naval commanders who won renown 
under the masterful administration of Lincoln. 

Among a number of letters of appreciation, Mahan 
received one from Mr. Loyall Farragut, who had pre- 
viously written a biography of his father ; and the 
following extracts from a review in the New York Times 
give an idea of the impression the book made at the 
time it was published : 

" The author of The Influence of Sea Power upon 
History has found in Admiral Farragut a congenial 
subject, and has worked up his material in a masterful 
manner in the volume which forms part of the new 
series of the Messrs. Appleton, entitled Great Com- 
manders. 

" The author has at his fingers' ends conditions past 
and present. The man who broke through the batteries 
on the Mississippi and fought his way to Mobile was the 






.^: 






(N,- 












vl 









S,^- t^l <^^ 






v1 ■ 









■^■"i-^'||-3HiHf#^^v<% 



\1 






l4i^' 



1^ 



U 






A 









1892] FARRAGUT'S LETTER 55 

connecting link between the older sea-heroes of 1812 and 
those of 1862. In Farragut's case, the boy who had 
passed powder on the Essex, in her fight with the Phoebe 
and Cherub off Valparaiso, was the man who stood on 
the shrouds of the Hartford, lashed there or not, and 
with shell and shot tearing around him, coolly surveyed 
the enemy's batteries, made up his mind exactly what 
had to be done, and did it. 

" In naval warfare there is nothing finer than, 
when at Mobile, with the Tecumseh having ' her screw 
revolving wildly in the air,' and disappearing with her 
bottom stove in by a torpedo, Farragut dared to follow 
her. There might be another torpedo or many of 
them. That w^as Farragut's moment of inspiration. 
He would not turn tail, although one ship or two ships 
might be lost. It was ' the supreme moment of his 
life, in which the scales of his fortunes wavered in the 
balance.' ' Go on,' was what the hero said, and go 
on he did. ' Damn the torpedoes ! ' shouted the 
Admiral, and then : ' Four bells. Captain Dayton, go 
ahead. Jouett, full speed,' and the dread line of 
buoys was passed. 

" We cannot say too much in praise of the manner 
in which Captain Mahan has brought home to us the 
finer traits of Farragut." 

Farragut's letter to his wife, written on the flagship 
Hartford, off Mobile, July 31, 1864, a fac-simile of 
which is reproduced in this chapter by the kind 
permission of the executors of the Admiral's son, Mr. 
Loyall Farragut, is eloquent of the man and is in 
itself a condensed biography. It reads as follows : 

" U.S. Flagship ' Hartford,' West Gulf 
*' Squadron, off Mobile, 

" Jidy 31, 1864. 

" My dearest Wife, — 

" My Monitors are all here now, so that I begin 
to feel that I am the one to attack, and no longer expect 
to be attacked by Buchanan, although I really wish 
he had made the effort to test the question. When I 
shall attack I know not, as I am waiting on the Army 



56 FARRAGUT [chap, vi 

as they say. I hope for the best results as I am always 
hopeful, put my shoulder to the wheel with my best 
judgement and trust to God for the rest, he has thus far 
been gracious beyond my deserts, but should he think 
proper to withdraw that protection and decide that 
I had done enough mischief in the world and cut me off 
in the midst of my sins, I have nothing to say, but that 
I am ready to submit to his will. My dear sister sent 
me a Holy Virgin like the one Rose gave. She said it 
was Blessed by the Archbishop, that he said I was good 
to all the Priests. I only tell you this to show you that 
they did not succeed in impressing the Bishop that 
I had Robbed the Church at Point Coupee. 

" Give my love to your dear mother and sisters and 
Robert and Newton and Ashe. 

" May God Bless and protect you all, ever prays 
your devoted husband, 

" D. G. Farragut. 

"To 

"Mrs. D. G. Farragut, 

" Hastings on the Hudson, 
" N.Y." 

In later years, when Farragut was urged to allow 
his name to be placed before the Democratic Convention 
as a nominee for the Presidency — which honour, by the 
way, he declined — it was said of him that he was a man 
" whose public career had been at once loyal and heroic, 
and whose name is the signal for unbounded respect 
and acclaim." 

In a letter to Mahan under date of May 23, 1897, 
Admiral Goodrich expressed this opinion : "I note 
that you went on the grand stand to see the Grant 
procession. I do not begrudge Grant his honors, but 
upon my soul I think it is a disgrace to the American 
people that Farragut' s memory should be so little 
regarded. He was greater than Grant." 



CHAPTER VII 

ENGLAND 

" I can imagine that when the God of Nations calls the roll of those 
who have been faithful, England will say, ' I am here with my ships 
and my men. My losses are grievous, but my spirit is unbroken.' " — 
Newton D. Bakeb, Secretary of War. 

The time had now come for Mahan to take his turn 
at sea, and he presented to the Navy Department an 
earnest request to be allowed further extension of time 
on shore, so that he might continue his Sea Power 
series, the next step in which he intended to be The 
War of 1812. His application was supported by 
influential friends, both naval and civil, and was fortified 
by his offer to retire in four years' time, in 1896, at the 
completion of forty years' service ; but fate in the 
person of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation decided 
otherwise. This official, apparently oblivious of the 
national importance of holding out every possible 
encouragement to a man who was capable of giving 
to the nation such remarkable creations as the first 
two Sea Power books, ^ both of which had then been 
published, denied Mahan' s request with the insensate 
remark, It is not the business of a naval officer to write 
books. 

^ " At the Union League Club in New York they call him the Jomini 
of the Water. The Times speaks of the term Sea Power and again ^ 
speaks of him as having done for the Ocean what Adam Smith had |i 
done for the Land, and compai'es Sea Power with the Wealth of Nations, jt 
WTiat next will they say ? And yet the man who wrote that book 
and who thought those thoughts into it is in danger of being taken 
from the War CoUege and sent to sea ! " — McCabty Little. 

57 



58 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

In the last analysis, what is efficiency ? ^ Is it not 
the ability to discriminate between things which differ, 
however minutely — although to the unthinking they 
may appear alike — and with unerring skill to distinguish 
essential from non-essential, and act accordingly ? 
And does not a similar principle apply to the faculty 
of recognising and accurately measuring the capacities 
of individuals, of whom no two are alike ? The 
efficient chief, ever minutely observant and free from 
prejudice, gauges to a nicety by intelligent discrimina- 
tion the special qualifications of each, and is thus 
enabled to utilise to the best possible advantage the 
services of those with whom he is associated. 

On this occasion the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation 
failed to use his powers of discrimination, but in so doing 
he unwittingly did Mahan a great service. 

There is a touch of pathos in Mahan' s appeal for his 
literary life. Here is his letter to the Chief of the 
Bureau of Navigation : 

" U.S. Naval War College and Torpedo School, 
" Newport, R.I. 

"March 17, 1893. 

" Sir, 

" I wish to make the following request to the 
Navy Department. 

" For seven years I have been engaged in a close 
study of Naval History and Naval Warfare. Of the 
results of this study much has not been published ; 
but the greater part has been and is now before the 
Department and the Navy. It is my desire to devote 
myself henceforth to the development of the same 
line of thought ; and in that view it is my purpose to 
retire in 1896, after forty years of service, as now allowed 
by law. 

" Meanwhile I become liable to sea service for a 



^' 



1 A woman is said to have nonplussed an assemblage of distin- 
guished political scientists by remarking, " I have heard all my life 
of German efficiency. If Germany loses the war, after forty years 
of preparation, what is efficiency ? " 



1893] APPEAL FOR SHORE DUTY 59 

period of at least two years. I apprehend that at my 
age — 53 — such a diversion is not merely a loss of two 
years of fruitful effort, invaluable at any age and 
especially in the later prime ,of life, but that also the 
consequent entire interruption of my line of thought 
may prove to be final. The complicated administration 
of a large modern ship-of-war is a task too absorbing 
to admit of sustained mental effort in another direction. 
" As far as I know, there is no other officer who 
proposes to do that which I here propose. I therefore 
ask that, upon the understanding that I will retire 
as above, within the term of the present Administration, 
the Department will rule that the contribution I may 
be expected to make to professional thought, by such 
studies as the above, outweighs the advantage that can 
result from the experience of two years of command, 
when these so shortly precede my final retirement from 
active service ; and that the Department will for these 
reasons excuse me from such sea service. 
" I have the honor to be, 
" Very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 
" A. T. Mahan, 

" Captain, U.S. Navy, 
President, U.S. Naval War College and Torpedo School. 

" To the 

" Chief of Bureau of Navigation, 
" Navy Department, 

" Washington, D.C." 

Following up his application to the Navy Department, 
Mahan stated his case in a letter to Mr. Roosevelt, 
from whom he received this reply : 

" Washington, D.C, 

''May 1, 1893. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, — 

" Last evening Lodge, Harry Davis, Admiral 
Luce and I held a solemn council of war with your 
last letter to me as the text. I fear all hope for the 
War College (which is nothing without you) has gone ; 
our prize idiots here have thrown away a chance to 



60 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

give us an absolutely unique position in Naval affairs, 
but I made a very strong bid to give you at least the 
Miantonomah. The obstacle is of course Ramsay, who 
is bitterly opposing it or anything else that may help 
you. Lodge will see Herbert about the Miantonomah 
business. 

" Oh, what idiots we have to deal with ! And those 
' Century Geese ! ' Well meaning, good people the 
Century folk, but their writing that there were not 
three men in the Navy who could do your work was 
as if some one had said there were not ten men who 
could do Farragut's. 

" Faithfully yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

The following message came from his brother Major 
Frederick Mahan : 

" Treasury Department, Office of the Lighthouse Board, 

" Washington, D.C, 

" May 3, 1893. 

" My dear Alf, — 

"■ There was a reporter in here yesterday who 
told me that he had learned at the Navy Department 
that your orders for sea would not go into effect for 
a year yet. I told him of your possible assignment 
to the Miantonomah, and he answered that he had 
heard of that but that the report which he gave me 
yesterday was of later date. 

" I met Dewey this morning and he tells me that there 
has been a tremendous pressure brought to bear from 
naval officers themselves to keep you on shore, giving 
as an example of it a remark made by McNair that 
although he likes exceedingly his work at the Observa- 
tory, he considers that what you are doing is of so 
much more importance, that he would be willing to 
volunteer to go to sea to have you left on shore. 

" I tell you these things for what they are worth. 
Of course I cannot say anything about them as to their 
accuracy, or their reliability, but still they may be looked 
on as indicating straws. 

" Very affectionately, 

" F. A. Mahan." 



1893] GREAT RECEPTION IN ENGLAND 61 

Despite the efforts of his friends, Mahan had to go 
to sea and was appointed to the command of the Chicago, 
flagship of Admiral Erben on the European station. 
Uhomme propose mais Dieu dispose, and in this case 
nothing could have been more fortunate for that 
deeply disappointed philosopher. When the Chicago 
reached England, the most eminent and distinguished 
personages in the land sought to do him honour and to 
express their recognition of his genius. No sooner 
had the flagship touched at Queenstown, her first port 
of call in Ireland, than the avalanche of hospitable 
invitations began to descend upon his unprotected head. 

This created unexpected complications, for Admirals 
after all are but human, and some embarrassment 
was created at Queenstown by the arrival of a telegram 
addressed to Mahan from the American Embassy in 
London stating that Earl Spencer, First Lord of the 
Admiralty, wished to give him a dinner and asking 
him to name a convenient date. When Lord Spencer's 
dinner eventually took place on the arrival of the 
Chicago in England, it was given in honour of Admiral 
Erben and Captain Mahan. It included the Viceroy 
of Ireland, several Cabinet ministers, and a number of 
the most distinguished admirals and military com- 
manders in the country. Prior to this. Admiral Erben 
and Captain Mahan had dined with the Viceroy of 
Ireland on the yacht Enchantress in Queenstown 
Harbour. 

The First Lord of the Admiralty entertained Mahan 
on other occasions, and told him one night at dinner 
that Mr. John Morley, a member of the Cabinet and 
one of the most distinguished literary men in England 
(now Viscount Morley of Blackburn), wished to meet him. 
This, Mahan recorded in a private letter to his family, 
" he found it hard to believe." 

On the arrival of the Chicago at the Isle of Wight 
for the Cowes Regatta, a large envelope with the seal 



62 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

of the " Board of Green Cloth " aroused Mahan's curi- 
osity. It contained information that the Lord Steward 
of the Royal Household had received the Queen's 
command to invite Captain Mahan to dinner on July 
31, at 8.45 of the clock. Full naval dress was the order 
of the day. In a letter to his daughter, Mahan records 
that for the first time in his life he sat down to dinner 
with his sword on, and was much impressed by the 
magnificent uniforms and orders worn by many of 
the other guests. Among those at the dinner were the 
Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII), the 
Duke of York (now King George V of England), Lord 
Roberts, Sir Henry Keppel, Admiral of the Fleet, 
and a number of foreign naval officers. After dinner 
Captain Mahan was presented to the Prince of Wales 
and other distinguished guests. Lord Roberts told him 
that some one had sent him The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History, and after reading it he had bought the 
second book himself. In reply to his complimentary 
remarks, Mahan said that he thought it better to have 
done something, as Lord Roberts had, than to have 
only written something. 

The following day the Duke of Connaught arrived 
on board the Chicago unannounced. This nearly led 
to a mild tragedy, because, not having given his name, 
he was informed that both the Admiral and the Captain 
were dressing for dinner. As it was about five in the 
afternoon, he naturally remarked that it seemed a 
long time to dinner and suggested that perhaps the 
Admiral would see the Duke of Connaught ! My friend 
Dr. Brathwaite, who was surgeon on the Chicago 
during this European cruise and who has been invaluable 
in helping me to form a just estimate of Mahan's 
temperament, tells me that during Cowes week it was 
not unusual for the young English Princesses to visit 
the flagship in the same unceremonious way. 

Shortly after this the flagship left for the Channel 



1894] PUBLICLY ENTERTAINED 63 

and Mediterranean ports of France and Spain. Admiral 
Erben, Captain Mahan, and the officers of the Chicago 
were entertained by the Prefect, the Mayor, and other 
notabihties of Havre ; and nothing could exceed the 
kindness of the members of an English family by the 
name of Schiff towards the officers of the ship when they 
touched at Villefranche. On the return of the Chicago 
to England in the spring of 1894 a veritable deluge 
of honours and entertainments awaited Mahan. 

His English publishers, Messrs. Sampson Low & 
Marston, were first in the field, and gave a dinner in 
his honour at that famous rendezvous of Americans, 
the Langham Hotel. Then, on May 24, a public banquet 
was given at St. James's Hall in honour of Admiral 
Erben, Captain Mahan, and the officers of the Chicago. 
The company numbered about four hundred, and among 
the Committee of Welcome were the Lord Mayor of 
London and a number of the most distinguished English 
admirals and generals, including Admiral of the 
Fleet Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby and Lord Roberts ; 
while the list of stewards comprised many of the most 
eminent names in Britain. Among the guests of note 
were Mr. John Hay and Mr. William C. Whitney. 
Following the toasts of the Queen and the President 
of the United States, the toast of the United States 
was responded to by the United States Ambassador, 
Mr. Bayard. The United States Navy was honoured 
by Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby and Admiral Erben. 
In felicitous vein Lord Roberts proposed the health 
of Mahan and the officers of the Chicago, and expressed 
a wish that Captain Mahan should do for military 
history what he had done for the naval service. 

In replying, Mahan said in part : 

" It is indeed to us a special occasion, the memory 
of which will remain throughout our lives. But it is 
satisfactory to know and to feel that this pre-eminently 
distinguished assemblage is by no means alone or 



64 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

peculiar in its manifestations of the kindly feeling and 
cordial sentiments which more and more, as time goes 
by, are coming to mark the relations between the 
citizens of Great Britain and the citizens of the United 
States. 

" Certainly it is so between the naval officers of the 
two nations, as I myself am able to affirm from an 
experience of more than a quarter of a century, and 
I am happy to number personally among my friends 
many members of the British Navy, who have not 
only rendered me great and substantial service at various 
times, but have shown very great kindness in so doing. 

" And indeed naval officers of the United States 
should feel a peculiar sympathy with Englishmen, 
over and above that which is felt by the mass of our 
fellow citizens, because by our education and our habits 
of thought we are brought into close sympathy and 
contact with one of the greatest of British interests, 
and we, as naval officers, are in keen sympathy with the 
greatest of all, that is, the British Navy. 

" The Navy is the first line of defence in Great Britain, 
and although I fear I shall have to decline Lord Roberts's 
very flattering offer to undertake the subject of military 
warfare, I can quite understand that although you have 
a first line of defence, you ought also to have a second. 
Separated as we are by the broad expanse of the Atlantic, 
we are able to look upon many European questions with 
a certain amount of calmness and indifference. But 
when the question of the Navy is reached, feelings df 
indifference give way to feelings of admiration and 
enthusiasm for what is a record of glory unsurpassed 
in the annals of time." 

On June 2, the Royal Navy Club of 1765 and 1785 
invited Admiral Erben and Captain Mahan as guests 
to a dinner to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of 
Lord Howe's victory on June 1, 1794. Unfortunately 
Admiral Erben was unable to attend ; so Mahan was 
the sole guest. He occupied the seat of honour at the 
right hand of the President, Admiral Sir Vesey Hamilton, 
and it was the first time anyone other than a British 



1894] ROYAL NAVY CLUB 65 

subject had enjoyed the privilege of dining with this 
ancient institution, whose fame is enhanced by the fact 
that among other celebrated names in its Hst of members 
is that of Nelson. On his right was Admiral Sir Wilham 
Houston Stewart, who told him he had never thoroughly 
understood Howe's great victory of June 1 until he, 
Mahan, had explained it. He considered the description 
magnificent.^ Sir William Houston Stewart made an 
eloquent and enthusiastic speech on Anglo-American 
relations and Mahan's writings, and his call for three 
cheers for his guest was vigorously taken up by the 
admirals and captains present, of whom there were 
about a hundred. 

Writing to Mrs. Mahan a description of it, he said : 
" You may imagine I was somewhat overwhelmed 
at being thus greeted by a hundred British admirals 
and captains. I think it was perhaps the most spon- 
taneous and affecting testimonial I received while in 
England." In after-years he sought the opinion of 
Admiral Sir Bouverie Clark in these words : 

" Would you kindly glance your eye over the enclosed, 
and let me know if it accords with truth ? You can 
understand that in my recollections, and particularly 
of my stay in England in 1894, I am divided between 

1 " I extended my reading by Jomini's Wars of the French Republic, 
a work instructive from the political as well as military point of view ; 
concurrently testing Howe's naval campaign of 1794 by the principles 
advanced by the military author, which commended themselves to 
my judgment. In connection with this study of naval strategy I 
reconstructed independently Howe's three engagements of May 28 
and 29 and June 1, from the details given by James, Troude, and 
Chevalier, analysing and discussing the successive tactical measures 
of the opposing admirals ; in the battle of June 1 going so far as to 
trace even the tracks of the fifty-odd individual ships throughout the 
action. This, the most complicated presentation I ever attempted, 
was a needless elaboration, though of absorbing interest to nae when 
once begun. A comparison between it and the bare conventional 
diagram of Trafalgar in the same volumes, which has been criticised 
as not reproducing the facts, may serve to show how far multiplicity 
of minutiae conduces to clearness of perception." — From Sail to Steam. 



66 . ENGLAND [chap, vii 

the wish not to seem to make too much of the attentions 
showed me, and the equal desire to recognise all that 
they were in themselves. Of these, among the most 
valued by me was the Royal Navy Club, because of the 
closeness with which it has guarded guestship. The 
compliment of being the first foreigner to be entertained 
by it was very great." 

At dinner, one night later in the season, Captain 
Prince Louis of Battenberg (now Admiral the 
Marquess of Milford Haven) told him that he was the 
first man not a British subject that had ever dined 
with the Club, and added : "I hope we shall hereafter 
stick to the rule, so that you may remain the only one." 

One of the admirals at the dinner said to Mahan : 
" There is only one fault I find in you American officers, 
and that is there are not nearly enough of you." 

A week before the Royal Navy Club dinner he received 
the following letter, which very naturally gave him 
profound satisfaction : 



" 9, NoEHAM Gaedens, Oxfoed, 
" May 22, 1894. 

" My dear Sir, — 

" At my suggestion the University of Oxford 
considered in Council yesterday the question of whether 
you should be asked to do us the honour of receiving 
the Honorary Degree of D.C.L. at our ' Commemoration ' 
on June 20. I am happy to say that the suggestion 
was most favourably entertained, and I was com- 
missioned to inquire whether you are likely to be 
on our shores at that time. I cannot help the expression 
of my hope that you may find it possible to be present. 

" I do not think that any one of the recipients of our 
Degree would be considered more worthy of such honour 
as our ancient University can bestow, or would be more 
popular with our people. One of our Heads of Houses, 
the President of Trinity, will do himself the honour of 
entertaining you in my place, as Mrs. Burrows is not 
strong enough to undertake it, but I shall claim you as 



1894] OXFORD UNIVERSITY 67 

my guest at the All Souls lunch, which is a sort of 
University function. 

" Yours faithfully, . 

" Montagu Burrows, 
" Capt. B.N. 
" {Professor of History). 

" Until we know of your acceptance, this invitation, 
if you please, is to be kept entirely confidential as 
regards the public." 

Captain Burrows was probably the first naval officer 
in the annals of Oxford to occupy a professor's chair 
in the University. 

Upon his acceptance of the honour, Mahan received 
this letter from Dr. Woods, the President of Trinity 
College : 

" Trinity College, Oxfobd, 
" May 24, 1894. 

" My dear Sir, — 

" Professor Burrows tells me that you are willing 
to accept the Honorary Degree of D.C.L., which the 
University of Oxford proposes to confer on you, and 
upon me falls (as having been the proposer of the 
Degree at the meeting of the Council of the University) 
the pleasant duty of asking you to be my guest while 
you are at Oxford for the purpose. It will give Mrs. 
Woods and myself much pleasure, if you will come to us 
on Tuesday the 19th of June, at any time which is 
convenient to you. The Degree will be conferred in 
the Theatre on the morning of the 20th, and Professor 
Burrows has asked us to bring you on that day to 
luncheon at All Souls College, where the guests of the 
University are generally entertained after the ceremony. 
I may add that both Mrs. Woods and I are warm 
admirers of your books, and that it will give us real 
satisfaction to have this pleasant opportunity of making 
your acquaintance. 

" Believe me, dear Sir, 

" Very faithfully yours, 

" H. G. Woods." 
" To Captain Mahan." 

6 



68 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

The conferring of the degree took place in the ancient 
building known as the Sheldonian Theatre, which was 
given to the University in 1669 by Gilbert Sheldon, 
Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the 
University. It is a fine example of Sir Christopher 
Wren's genius, and enjoyed the distinction of being 
the early home of the University Printing Press. 
Writing to his son at this time, Mahan said : 

" What a charming, fascinating place Oxford is ! I wish 
it were possible to describe to you the ancient gray 
buildings, the beautiful green turf and trees, and the 
historical associations with which Dr. Woods made my 
visit so interesting, but it would be impossible. English 
people are right to love their country, for a lovelier 
one would be hard to find." 

No doubt Mahan was familiar with Matthew Arnold's : 

*' Steeped in sentiment as she lies, spreading her gardens 
to the moonlight, and whispering from her towers the 
last enchantments of the Middle Age. Who will deny 
that Oxford, by her ineffable charm, keeps ever calling 
us nearer to the true goal of all of us, to the ideal, to 
perfection, to beauty, which, in a word, is only truth 
seen from another side ? " 

Among others upon whom were conferred degrees 
were the Earl of Kimberley, Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs, and the Bishop of Peterborough, Dr. 
Mandell Creighton. In From Sail to Steam Mahan 
gives this amusing description of the ceremony : 

" The great occasion at Oxford presents a curious 
combination of im.pressiveness and horse-play, such 
as is associated with the Abbot of Misrule in the stories 
of the Middle Ages. It is this smack and suggestion 
of antiquity, of unnumbered such occasions in the 
misty past, when the student was half-scholar and half- 
ruffian, which makes the permitted license of to-day 
not only tolerable, but in a sense even venerable. 
The good-humor and general acceptance on both sides, 



1894] D.C.L., OXFORD 69 

by chaffers and chaffed, testified to recognised conditions; 
and there is about a hoary institution a saving grace 
which cannot be transferred to parvenus. Practised 
in a modern Cis- Atlantic seat of learning, as I have 
seen it done, without the historical background, the 
same disregard of normal decorum becomes undraped 
rowdyism — boxing without gloves. The scene and its 
concurrences at Oxford have been witnessed by too 
many, and too often described, for me to attempt them. 
I shall narrate only my particular experiences. I had 
been desired to appear in full uniform — epaulettes, 
cocked hat, sword, and what is suggestively called 
' brass-bound ' coat ; swallow-tailed, with a high 
collar stiffened with lining and gold lace, set off by 
trousers with a like broad stripe of lace, not inaptly 
characterised by some humorist as ' railroad ' trousers. 
The theory of these last, I believe, is that so much 
decoration on hat and collar, if not balanced by an 
equivalent amount below, is top-heavy in visual effect, 
if not on personal stability. Whatever the reason, 
it is all there, and I had it all at Oxford ; all on my 
head and back, I mean, except the epaulettes. For 
to my concern I found that over all this paraphernalia 
I must also wear the red silk gown of a D.C.L. It 
became evident, immediately upon trial, that the 
silk and the epaulettes were agreeing like the Kilkenny 
cats, so it was conceded that these naval ornaments 
should be dispensed with ; the more readily as they 
could not have been seen. In the blend, and for the 
occasion, my legal laurels prevailed over my professional 
exterior. 

" In the matter of dress my life certainly culminated 
when I walked up — or down — High Street in Oxford 
with cocked hat, red silk gown, and sword, the railroad 
trousers modestly peeping beneath. It must be admitted 
that the townsmen either had more than French 
politeness, or else were used to incongruities. I did 
not see one crack a smile ; whether any turned to 
look or not, I did not turn to see. My hospitable escort 
and myself joined the other expectants before the 
Sheldonian Theatre, where the ceremonies are held. 
The audience, of both sexes, visitors and students, had 



70 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

already crammed the benches and galleries of the 
great circular interior when we marched to our seats, 
in single file, down a narrow aisle. The fun, doubtless, 
had been going on already some time ; but for us it 
was non-existent till we entered, when the hose was 
turned full upon us and our several peculiarities. I am 
bound to say that to encourage us we got quite as many 
cheers as chaff, and the personalities which flew about 
like grape-shot were pretty much hit or miss. I noticed 
that some one from aloft called out, ' Why don't you 
have your hair cut ? ' which I afterwards understood 
was a delicate allusion to my somewhat unparalleled 
baldness ; but it happened that two behind me in the 
procession was a very distinguished Russian scientist, 
like myself a D.C.L., in ovo, whose long locks fell over 
his collar, and I innocently supposed that so pertinent 
a remark was addressed to him on an occasion when 
*mpertinence was lord of the ascendant. Thus the 
shaft passed me harmless, or fell back blunted from my 
triple armor of dulness." 

The Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University was 
the next to be heard from. Here is his letter : 

" The Lodge, King's College, Cambridge, 
"June 11, 1894. 

" My dear Sir, — 

" I am desired by the Council of this University 
to ask you if it would be possible for you to come to 
Cambridge and receive the Honorary Degree of LL.D., 
and if such a compliment would be acceptable to you. 

" The days of Congregation on which the Degree 
would be conferred are Monday June 18, Tuesday 
June 19, and Wednesday June 27. 

" I shall be very glad if it would suit you to come 
to Cambridge on one of those days. 

" Yours very faithfully 

" A. Austen Leigh, 

" Vice-Chancellor." 

This was one of the unfortunate occasions on which 
the flagship was inconveniently absent from British 



1894] LL.D., CAMBRIDGE 71 

waters. She was at Antwerp when the time came 
for conferring the degrees, and as Mahan could be spared 
for but one week, he had to forgo the pleasure and 
distinction of being present at both Universities upon 
the days appointed. As Oxford was first in the field, 
he decided to go there on their Commemoration Day 
and receive his Cambridge degree on a day convenient 
to the authorities in the same week.^ This he did, and 
Dr. Sandys, the Public Orator, commemorated the event 
in Latin, of which this is a translation : 

" We greet to-day with fraternal love a guest who has 
come across the Atlantic to England. We greet not only 
a citizen of a very great republic, but also the most eminent 
authority on naval science and naval history, one who 
has pointed out in his works the transcendent importance 
of sea power in the history of great nations. When we 
read his remarkable books we behold the image of our 
maritime empire rise from the waves made luminous by 
his pen. We behold the cause of, and the beginnings of 
our widely scattered commerce ; and the need for protecting 
our far-off colonies. And finally we are strengthened 
in the determination that for the welfare of the world 
and for the cause of universal peace we shall never permit 
that glory to be snatched from us. Moreover, we prophesy 
that in the future our brothers across the sea will be sharers 
of that glory ; meanwhile, thoroughly appreciating that 
we are of the same blood, the same language, and the same 
glorious history, we gladly stretch forth across the sea 
which happily separates us no longer our right hands in 
a bond of friendship which we hope is destined to be for 
all time. 

1 " Oxford had been first to tender me her distinction, and I accord- 
ingly arranged my journey with a view to her celebration ; two days 
before which I went down to Cambridge, and was there received and 
enrolled at a private audience, before the accustomed officials and 
some few visitors from outside. What the circvmistances lacked in 
the pomp of numbers and observance, and in the consequent stimulus 
to interest which a very novel experience arouses, was compensated 
to me by the few hours of easy social intercourse with a few eminent 
persons, whom I had the pleasure of then meeting very informally." 
— From Sail to Steam. 



72 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

" Whom love unites, in vain the ocean sunders ; 
with one accord we clasp our hands across the friendly 
main. 

" / present to you a man who is very closely united to 
the British by the ties of friendship, and one who is 
numbered among the highest in American naval affairs, 
Alfred Thayer Mahan.'' 

Later in the day, as LL.D. of Cambridge University, 
Mahan revelled among the portraits in the house of 
Dr. Butler, Master of Trinity College, from the walls 
of which looked down upon him the faces of numbers 
of famous men of whom he had so often read. Lord 
Rosebery, the Prime Minister, said to him at one of 
these functions : " I think you have broken the record 
in taking a degree from both Universities in the same 
week." 

Four hundred years ago, in the reign of Bluff King 
Hal, a charter was granted to an association of English 
mariners, under the title of the Corporation of Trinity 
House, the management of which was in 1609 conferred 
upon the Elder Brethren thereof. In 1894 the Master 
and Elder Brethren invited Mahan to dinner to meet 
the Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII). 
The guests of honour included a number of the most 
prominent men in England, the Duke of York (now 
King George V, then Master of Trinity House) being 
in the chair ; and among the Elder Brethren entertaining 
were the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Teck, Lord 
Rosebery (then Prime Minister), and the Marquess of 
Salisbury. 

A more distinguished body of men it would have been 
hardly possible to assemble together, including, as it 
did, nine members of the Royal family and seven Cabinet 
ministers. 

Of all those who did honour to Mahan, no one was 
more courteous than the Prime Minister, who entertained 
him several times. This letter from him, among a 



1894] BUCKINGHAM PALACE 73 

number, shows a personal interest which Mahan much 
appreciated : 

First Lord of the Treasury. 

" 10, Downing Street, WhitbhaTiIj, 
" May 29, 1894. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, — 

" I write in the forlorn hope of being able to 
persuade you to dine with me quietly on Thursday or 
Friday next, when we might have conversation less 
interrupted than was possible the other night, but I 
know it is a forlorn hope ! 

" Sincerely, 

" ROSEBERY." 

Following these functions, he was again invited to 
dine with Her Majesty the Queen, and to a ball at 
Buckingham Palace. In a private letter to his family, 
after describing the guests, the scarlet liveries of the 
footmen and the uniforms of the Highlanders and 
Indian attendants, he said that the Queen spoke kindly 
of his books. He adds with characteristic modesty : 
" I think that Royal people are always coached for 
such occasions." 

Invitations too numerous to mention poured in 
upon him. Among these he much enjoyed a visit to 
Lord and Lady Salisbury at Hatfield House, one of 
the most interesting country places in England, brimming 
over with associations of old days and of the doings of 
the great house of Cecil from the days of Queen 
Elizabeth's Lord Burghley. To mention but one 
possession of transcendent interest, Hatfield contains 
the originals of thousands of the most important State 
papers of Elizabeth's days. 

Mahan was entertained by the American Ambassador, 
by Lord Rothschild, Lord Nelson, Sir Francis Jeune, 
Lord Radstock, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and many 
other prominent and distinguished personages. The 



74 ENGLAND [chap, vii 

Prince of Wales expressed a wish that he should attend 
one of his levees at St. James's Palace, an introduction 
which culminated in a private audience a few years 
later when the Prince had become King Edward VII. 
The privileges of a number of the most prominent clubs 
were extended to him, and the Athenseum Club, which 
in those days opened its doors to " a distinctly limited 
number of distinguished visitors," invited Mahan to 
become an honorary member and entertained him at 
dinner. 

He recounts that everywhere he experienced the same 
cordiality, and among his correspondence are a number 
of letters testifying to the warmth of his reception at 
the hands of the great men of the day in England. 
Poor Mahan ! He did not realise it at the time, but 
he was virtually one of the lions of the London season, 
than which there is possibly no more exhausting an 
experience. All of this was very flattering, even if 
ephemeral, but among his many experiences there is 
one which he especially prized and treasured. It was 
the receipt of a letter from the American Ambassador. 

The opinion of such a man, highly distinguished in 
diplomatic life, and universally esteemed for his personal 
character and attainments, may be considered a fair 
criterion of the estimate it is justifiable to place upon 
the value of the services rendered to the State by a fellow 
citizen. Mr. Bayard, United States Ambassador to the 
Court of St. James, wrote him this charming letter : 

" Embassy of the United States, London, 
''June 22, 1894. 

" Deau Captain Mahan, — 

" As the envoy here of our Government, and with 
genuine personal satisfaction, I wish to congratulate 
you upon the well-deserved degrees — honoris causa — 
conferred upon you by ' those twins of learning ' — 
Oxford and Cambridge. 

" I hold it to be the highest good fortune that in the 



1894] AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 75 

prosecution of your professional duties you have been 
enabled to render such eminent service to the truth 
of history, the world of letters, and the good relations 
of two nations of kindred speech and morals. 

" In these days, when irritating aspersions and 
ungenerous recriminations are only too frequent, the 
magnanimity and perfect temper with which as an 
American citizen and sailor you have accorded praise 
and admiration to the memories of heroic men and 
deeds of the British Navy are most welcome and 
refreshing. 

"It is honorable to you and to your country and 
is potential in arousing a responsive feeling in the 
hearts of the people to whom you have dealt their 
just mede. 

" Wishing you increased fame and the full enjoyment 
of all that should accompany it, 

" Believe me to be 

" Very sincerely yours, 

" T. F. Bayard . 
" Captain Alfred T. Mahan, 
" U.S.S. Chicago:' 

In the following January the death of Sir John 
Seeley, the historian, left vacant the chair of Modern 
History at Cambridge University, and, much to the 
delight of Captain McCarty Little and other intimate 
friends, the suggestion was seriously made in the London 
Press that Mahan should be invited to become his 
successor as Professor of Modern History. 

Here is McCarty Little's letter on the subject : 

" University Club. 

" compliment to captain mahan. 

" hint that he be called to professorship of 

" modern history 

" London, Jan. 28. — The Daily Graphic will print 
to-morrow a leader on the suggestion made by a corre- 
spondent of St. James's Gazette that Captain Mahan, 
United States Navy, be called to Cambridge to take the 



76 ^ ENGLAND [chap, vii 

Professorship of Modern History, which was left vacant 
by the death of Sir John Seeley two weeks ago. The 
writer says : 

" ' Captain Mahan's contribution to history is not easily 
measured by academic standards, for it rises into the 
higher plane of statesmanship. The weakest point 
of the suggestion is that Captain Mahan possibly will 
prefer active life in the United States Navy, but there 
is no reason why the offer should not be made. A 
refusal would be our loss, but we should have had the 
pleasure of expressing appropriately our gratitude 
for the national service he has done us.' 

" Rira bien qui rira le dernier," and after all said 
and done, I rather think, my dear Mrs. Mahan, that 
we have already enough to justify our starting the 
commencement of a good big enduring smile ! ! ! 

" I could not imagine a case of such a glorious victory. 
It is seldom that merit receives such an overwhelming 
acknowledgment, and especially when it is in the case 
of one who keeps himself so thoroughly in the back- 
ground as Captain Mahan ; and all the more bitter must 
be the pill for those who have sought to pooh-pooh his 
work. 

" Hoping to see you very soon, 

" Believe me, very sincerely, 

" W. McCarty Little." 

In a letter to his family about this time, Mahan 
said : 

" The books are booming. The English publisher 
writes me he had an order in Boston for 500 of the 
first and 250 of the second, which Little & Brown 
could not fill till new copies were printed. They had 
sold in six weeks more than in six months previous. 
This did England for us." 

In The Navy as a Fighting Machine Admiral Bradley 
Fiske endorses Mahan in some notable tributes to naval 
power. Among other things he says : 

" No other nation has ever dominated so large a part 
of the surface of the globe as has Great Britain during 



1894] HOMEWARD BOUND 77 

the last two centuries ; and she has done it by means 
of her naval power. It is certain that that ' tight 
little island ' has attained a world-wide power, and 
a wealth per capita greater than those of any other 
country ; that her power and wealth, as compared 
with her home area, are so much greater than those of 
any other country as to stagger the understanding ; 
that she could not have done what she has done without 
her Navy. The British Navy, even more than the 
British Army, brought Great Britain safe out of the 
Napoleonic danger, and made the British the paramount 
nation of the world." 

On the return voyage to the United States the 
Governor of Gibraltar and the Commander-in-Chief 
of the Channel Squadron gave receptions " to meet 
Captain Mahan," and he ends his last home letter 
from that side of the ocean with these words : " So you 
see that our hospitable English friends were good to 
me to the end." 



ENGLAND 

Mother of a dauntless race, just, considerate, gentle, kind. 
True and honest as the day, none more sturdy in the fight ; 

Garden of surpassing grace, where peace and rest and calm delights, 
Midst lovesome, matchless beauty dwell, fair guerdon of a thousand years ; 

Where lavender and rosemary, phlox, bluebell, crocus, jasmine, thyme. 
Rose, violet, poppy, briarsweet, lark, linnet, thrush and nightingale. 

From dawn past twilights lingering kiss, in colour, fragrance, melody. 
Pour out their loveliness to Him, of all the giver and the source ; 

Land of kindly gentle folk, 

Yet mistress of the all-puissant seas, 

ENGLAND. 



CHAPTER VIII 



THE LIFE OF NELSON 



" We have all simply devoured your Nelson, and there is but one 
verdict : that the Life of Nelson will never again be written." — 
Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich, United States Navy. 

After the completion of The Life of Farragut and 
The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution 
and Empire, Mahan turned his thoughts towards the 
task of writing The War 0/ 1812, but as he was ordered 
to sea in command of the Chicago just at this time, 
the work was unfortunately postponed and the book 
was not written until several years later. 

This postponement, coupled with the fact that The 
Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and 
Empire of necessity dealt with Nelson's campaigns, 
the details of which were then fresh in his memory, 
led to his carrying out his intended project of writing 
a biography of the greatest seaman of all time. 

Before he sailed from America on the Chicago he had 
received this note from Mr. Roosevelt ; 

" Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y., 
" June 13, '93. 

" Dear Captain Mahan, — 

" I greatly enjoyed the clipping from the Tribune. 
What a real donkey the Evening Post is ! and what 
fearful mental degeneracy results from reading it, or 
the Nation as a steady thing. ^ 

1 When the question of the inclusion of thi3 letter in the volume 
was discussed, Mr. Roosevelt said to the author in his boyishly impetu- 
ous way, " Put it in ; put it in : the Evening Post is just as big a 
donkey as ever." Since these words were spoken, however, the Even- 
ing Post and the Nation are said to have passed into other and, it is 
claimed, in the interests of sound Americanism, more acceptable hands. 

78 



1895-97] FIRST-HAND INFORMATION 79 

" Well, I hate to have you abandon our own war 
history, even temporarily, but you are the one man 
to write a history of Nelson and such a history we 
ought to have. 

" Good luck go with you ! 

" Very faithfully yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

One of the immediate results of the departmental 
order requiring him to go to sea was the priceless 
opportunity of coming into immediate contact in 
England with a number of persons closely related to 
Nelson and his family, and to the great commanders 
who fought with him. From these he was enabled 
to acquire an immense amount of first-hand information 
that would otherwise have been inaccessible.^ Skilful 
employment of this valuable material added much to 
the interest and accuracy of the biography, which is 
considered by many of the highest authorities as 
pre-eminently the best biography of Nelson so far 
published. 

He found it impossible to do any serious literary 
work while on sea duty,' so the actual writing of The 
Life of Nelson was done from 1895 to 1897, within the 
two years following the termination of the cruise of 
the Chicago, and the book was given to the world in 1897. 

Mahan's formula was to realise his personality by 
( mentally " living with Nelson" in as close familiarity 

1 Among others, the Earl of Ducie assisted by lending him his copy 
of Drinkwater's account of the battle of St. Vincent. 

* " Although in itself in most ways enjoyable, the cruise of the 
Chicago, while it lasted, necessarily suspended authorship. I heard 
intimations of the common opinion that the leisure of a naval officer's 
life would afford abundant opportunity. Even I myself for a moment 
imagined that time in some measure might be found for accumulating 
material, for which purpose I took along several books ; but it was in 
vain. Neither a ship nor a book is patient of a rival, and I soon ceased 
the effort to serve both. Night work was tried, contrary to my habit ; 
but after a few weeks I had to recognise that the evening's exertion 
had dulled my head for the next morning's duties." — A. T. M. 



80 THE LIFE OF NELSON [chap, viii 

as was consistent with the fact of his being dead. This 
resulted in a profound admiration for the man, Httle 
short indeed of deep affection, and he admits that he 
grieved while he condemned the shortcomings of that 
remarkable character whom he sums up in these words : 
" Sharer of our mortal weakness, he has bequeathed 
to us a type of single-minded self-devotion that can 
never perish. Wherever danger has to be faced or 
duty to be done, at cost to self, men will draw inspiration 
from the name and deeds of Nelson." 

On the hundredth anniversary of the battle of 
Trafalgar, October 21, 1905, Mahan was invited to 
address the Victoria Club of Boston, and he defined the 
subject of his discourse as The Strength of Nelson. 

In the course of this he dissected Nelson's character 
in a manner so profoundly interesting as more than to 
repay examination. It concluded with this eloquent 
summary : 

" In a celebrated funeral oration, which we all know, 
the speaker says : ' I come to bury Caesar, not to praise 
him.' It is for no such purpose that men observe this 
day ; for the man, the memory of whom now moves 
his people, is not one to be buried, but to be praised 
and kept in everlasting remembrance. True, he needs 
not our praises, but we need to praise him for our own 
sakes. The Majesty on High is exalted far above all 
praise, yet it is good to praise Him ; for the essence of 
praise is not the homage of the lips, but the recognition 
of excellence ; and recognition, when real, elevates, 
ennobles. It fosters an ideal which tends to induce 
imitation, and to uplift by sheer force of appreciation 
and association. And as with the Creator, so with the 
excellent among his creatures. We need not ignore 
their failings, or their sins, although an occasion like the 
present is not one for dwelling upon these ; but as we 
recognise in them men of like frailties with ourselves, 
we yet perceive that, despite all, they have not only 
done the great works, but have been the great men 
whom we justly reverence. That they in their weakness 



1895-97] VOLUMINOUS REVIEWS 81 

have had so much in common with us gives hope that 
we may yet have something in common with them in 
their strength. It is the high grace .and privilege of 
a man hke Nelson that he provokes emulation rather 
than rivalry, imitation rather than competition. To 
extol him uplifts ourselves. As it was when he lived 
on earth, so it is now. His life is an inheritance to 
children's children ; of his own people first, but after 
them, of all the nations of the earth." 

The literary critic of the London Times prophesied 
that The Life of Nelson would become one of the greatest 
of naval classics. 

Of the countless reviews which appeared at the time, 
but one extract will here be quoted, being temperate 
in language but characteristic of most of them [see 
Bibliography) : 

" Captain Mahan had already, by his previous 
works — The Influence of Sea Power upon History, and 
The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution 
and Empire — placed himself in the front rank of naval 
historians, winning distinction by his perfect mastery 
of strategy, his philosophic insight and perspicacity, 
his power of exposition and analysis, and his well- 
reasoned and clearly balanced judgments. 

" It was to be expected that The Life of Nelson would 
be characterised by the same qualities — that for exhaus- 
tive professional knowledge, for adequate treatment of 
Nelson's career, his relation to the Admiralty and to 
questions of State policy, for appreciation of his military 
genius, and for dispassionate judicial temper in handling 
the character of his hero. Captain Mahan' s book would 
satisfy the demands of criticism. 

" But, even from a writer of Captain Mahan' s 
acknowledged ability, few persons were prepared for 
a life like that which is here presented to us. Here 
' the mightiest seaman that ever trod the deck of 
a ship ' is faithfully and reverently drawn in all his 
consummate strength, in all his deplorable weakness, 
and he stands out alive from the page. There is 



82 THE LIFE OF NELSON [chap, viii 

unstinted admiration of his martial genius ; of his 
alertness of mind, swift as the lightning in its movement, 
overleaping the ordinary processes of reasoning, seldom 
mistaken in its intuitive conclusions ; of his long 
patience to wait and wear out his foes, and his dash, 
like the tiger's spring, when the opportunity arrived ; 
of his high courage ; of his unfailing magnanimity and 
generosity towards his officers and men ; above all, 
his sacred regard for duty, and, as he conceived it, for 
honour — the lode-stars of his career. Many memoirs 
of our great admiral have been written, but Captain 
Mahan's Life of Nelson has no important rival. For 
the future, this is the book to which all students of 
the hero of the Nile, of Copenhagen, and Trafalgar 
will turn, as his one authoritative, accurate, and adequate 
biography and psychology." — J. R. Thursfield, Quar- 
terly Review. 

Among the more interesting and curious of Mahan's 
documents is a characteristic letter of Nelson's, and 
a communication written on paper of which the water- 
mark is Nelson's famous Trafalgar signal represented 
by the actual flags used and having on either side 
the dates 1805 and 1905. It is from a German naval 
officer, and is addressed from Kiel ! 

When Nelson died, his services were partly recognised 

by the conferring of an Earldom and a pension of five 

thousand pounds a year on his next-of-kin, his brother 

William, to whom was also made a grant of one hundred 

thousand pounds for the purchase of a suitable estate 

to commemorate Nelson's memory. This is the estate 

now known as " Trafalgar." The late Lord Nelson 

expressed his approval of the book in this letter to 

Mahan : 

" Trafalgar, 

" April 26, 1897. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, — 

" I acknowledged at once to the publisher your 
kind present of the two handsome volumes of your 
Life of Nelson. But I refrained from writing to you 



1897] LORD NELSON'S TRIBUTE 83 

until I had read the book. I congratulate you on the 
deserved and universal praise with which it has been 
received. This is indeed a triumph when we remember 
that it is the fourth of the new lives which have been 
given to the public during the last three years. 

" Of course it was impossible for a Biographer to 
ignore the sad facts, so patent in the Alfred Morrison 
correspondence. But yet, while exposing to the full 
the heinousness of his fault and all its deteriorating 
consequences, you have so justly portrayed his other- 
wise noble character that this sad cloud is unable to 
obscure the grandeur and power which outshone human 
weakness. 

" The true character of the man with all its littleness 
and all its greatness is fully maintained through the 
whole Biography, which shows that it was only want of 
opportunity which delayed an earlier display of his 
great power and determination against the enemy. 
We feel that if he had been in Hotham's place as glorious 
a battle would have forestalled the Nile, if in Parker's 
a more complete breaking up of the Northern Confedera- 
tion would have forestalled Copenhagen, if in Calder's 
place as glorious a victory might have forestalled 
Trafalgar. 

" We shall never forget your kindness in visiting us 
here, and as the living representative of that great 
name I thank you for setting so nobly before the world 
all the power and achievements of England's Admiral. 

" Yours very truly, 

" Nelson." 

One other letter from the many received will be given. 
It is from Mahan's London publisher : 

^ " St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lane, 

" London, E.G., 

" March 8, 1897. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, — 

" Messrs. Little, Brown «& Co. sent me one copy 
in slips of your ' Nelson.' I began reading it at 5 p.m. 
on Saturday and read it till past 12. Began again 
yesterday 10 a.m. and finished it about 10 p.m. I could 

7 



84 THE LIFE OF NELSON [chap, viii 

not do anything but read it, and it took me nearly 20 
hours. 

" As the only Englishman who (so far as I know) 
has read it, I can with the utmost confidence assure you 
that it is certain to have a splendid reception here. 

" I confess when I saw the size of it I felt a little fear 
on the point of interest being sustained, but the first 
chapter banished that fear. It begins admirably and 
the interest goes on increasing from page to page. It is 
a glorious book, is much greater than all others on the 
subject as Nelson was greater than all his competitors 
for fame. 

" You have brought Nelson to life again. As an 
Englishman and the first to read your book, I can 
perfectly safely thank you for it in the name of our 
whole nation, but all I will do is to announce to you that 
the nation's thanks are coming, just as soon as Messrs. 
Little, Brown & Co. will send the copies. 

" With my warmest and most sincere congratula- 
tions, I am, 

" Yours very sincerely, 

" R. B. Marston." 

In his autobiography. After Work, Mr. Edward 
Marston, of Sampson Low, Marston & Company, records 
that The Life of Nelson was published by his firm in 
April 1897, and was accorded a magnificent reception, 
over 6,000 copies of the 365. edition being quickly 
disposed of ; and that although the sale of naval war 
books usually languishes in time of peace, there was 
a continuous, steady demand for those of Captain 
Mahan. The excitement in the literary and naval 
world must have been intense, judging from a state- 
ment in the New York Times to the effect that when 
The Life of Nelson appeared, Harold Frederic cabled 
to that paper from London that the reviewers of the 
London dailies sat up all night with the advance copies, 
in order to rush long reviews into print the next morning. 

Of all the stories told of Nelson, is not one of the 
most touching that which recounts how on the day 



1897] NELSON THE INCOMPARABLE 85 

before the battle of Trafalgar, while they were trying 
to close with the enemy's fleet, Nelson said to some of 
the officers at his table at dinner : " To-morrow I shall 
do that which will give you young gentlemen something 
to think about and talk about for the rest of your lives, 
but I shall not live to talk of it myself." It would seem 
that England's Admiral had a real presentiment of his 
coming end. 

Never was there perhaps a finer illustration of the 
lesson which life is constantly teaching us that we are 
all human and that transcendent strength and petty 
weaknesses are found together in the same nature. 
The light of publicity which inevitably shines upon the 
one eventually discloses the other. Despite deplorable 
shortcomings, the calibre of Nelson's courage and sense 
of duty was such as to have inevitably brought him 
distinction, apart altogether from the spark of genius 
which displayed itself in his remarkable military insight 
and stamped him as a born commander and a potential 
winner of battles. Whatever may have been the 
actual date and incidents of their original adoption, 
the three rows of braid on seamen's collars and their 
black kerchiefs for ever commemorate Nelson's great 
victories of the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar, and 
his glorious death. 

Mahan closes his memorable review of that wondrous 
figure with these words : 

" Happy he who lives to finish all his task. The 
words ' I have done my duty ' sealed the closed book 
of Nelson's story with a truth broader and deeper than 
he himself could suspect. His duty was done and its 
fruit perfected. Other men have died in the hour of 
victory, but for no other has victory so singular and 
so signal graced the fulfilment and ending of a great 
life's work. Finis coronal opus has of no man been 
more true than of Nelson. There were, indeed, conse- 
quences momentous and stupendous yet to flow from 
the decisive supremacy of Great Britain's sea power, 



86 



^HE LIFE OF NELSON [chap, viii 



the establishment of which, beyond all question or 
competition, was Nelson's great achievement ; but 
his part was done when Trafalgar was fought. The 
coincidence of his death with the moment of complete 
success has impressed upon that superb battle a stamp 
of finality, an immortality of fame, which even its own 
grandeur scarcely could have insured. He needed, 
and he left, no successor. To use again St. Vincent's 
words, ' There is but one Nelson.' " 

Writing to Admiral Sir Bouverie Clark, Mahan 
said : 

" I intend to retire when my time for voluntary 
retirement comes. This summer I have to give a few 
luncheons at our cottage in Newport, but I hope now 
within a month to begin serious and consecutive work 
on my ' Life of Nelson.' During the cruise I got him 
down as far as the siege of Bastia in 1794, but then had 
to stop. I find the great want now is not Nelson's own 
letters — there are quite enough of them — but letters 
from persons serving with him, or associated with him 
in daily life, who may incidentally mention him. If 
Captain Hammond is still with you — I understand he 
is an East of England man — won't you ask him if he 
knows of any descendants of Sir Edward Berry, who 
was Flag Captain at the Nile ? Like Nelson he was 
a Norfolk man, and I am pretty sure married in the 
county. His home letters might have allusions, incidents 
of daily life, etc., which is the great desideratum now. 
I have received a few — but very few — new anecdotes 
of such character. If at any time you get track of 
anything of the sort, or can suggest where I might 
turn up something, be sure and let me know. I want 
very much to write a life that will be the standard, 
if I can." 

From his friend the Hon. Henry White, of the United 
States Embassy, came this appreciative note : 

" 9, Grosvenob Crescent, S.W., 

" April 27, 1897. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, — 

" I cannot say how much gratified I was by the 



1897] HIGH PRAISE FROM HENRY WHITE 87 

receipt of your very kind letter announcing the approach- 
ing arrival of your ' Life of Nelson,' which has since duly 
reached me. 

" I am very proud to be the possessor of a copy, 
given me by the author, of that remarkable work, 
and I shall always value it very highly. I have already 
read the greater part of the first volume with the 
deepest interest, and can only say that, besides being, 
if possible, more interesting than its predecessors, it 
contains to a marked degree all the features which 
make your works so remarkable. No one ever made 
technical and strategical details so lucid to the unpro- 
fessional intellect as you do. 

" You have doubtless seen the innumerable criticisms 
— each more favourable than the other — which have 
appeared in this country about the work. 

" It will always be to me one of the most pleasant 
incidents of my first period of official service in this 
country to have been here at the time of your first 
visit after your books had been published and to have 
realised the appreciation in which you were— and are — 
held ; and I don't believe you have a fellow countryman 
who is prouder of you than I am. 

" My wife is absent in Dresden or would doubtless 
ask to be remembered. I trust we may soon meet 
again, and meanwhile I am, 

" Yours most sincerely and gratefully, 

" Henry White." 

In a letter to his daughter, Mahan wrote : "I intend 
to make the Life of Nelson the great work of my own 
life." 

Whatever may be its exact place in the immortal 
trilogy of sea-power books, it is a fascinating work. 
Without it no man's library is complete. Those who 
fail to read it, rob themselves of a rare intellectual 
treat. 



CHAPTER IX 

NAVAL WAR BOARD 
" They rule thebalanced world who rule the main." — James Thomson. 

One of Mahan's most important appointments came 
in 1898 on the breaking out of the Spanish- American 
War, when he was recalled by cable ^ from Italy 
and joined two other distinguished officers, Admiral 
Montgomery Sicard and Admiral (then Captain) 
Crowninshield, on the Naval War Board, which was 
speedily established for the purpose of furnishing the 
Secretary of the Navy with technical information 
and advice on questions of strategy. Three of the 
original members of this Board, Captain A. S. Barker 
and Commander Richardson Clover — both of whom 
became Rear-Admirals— and Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, 
were all called to active service within a few days 
of its formation ; the last-named to take a command 
in the " Roosevelt Rough-Riders," which he himself 
recruited. Mahan sent the Department the following 
cable through the United States Embassy and imme- 
diately started for Washington : 

" Captain Mahan offers following suggestions : 
" First. If two or three enemy's battleships enter 
Porto Rico, or elsewhere, they should at once be blocked 

1 Copy of cable : 
" Captain Mahan, Hotel d'Italie, Rome. 

" Long Washington twenty -fifth cables proceed to United States 
immediately and report to Secretary Navy. 

" Stevens. 
" (Received in Rome April 25, 1898.) " 

88 



1898] RECALLED TO WASHINGTON 89 

by a force superior to any combination possible by the 
enemy at the moment. Second. In such case and in 
existing conditions it seems probable that Havana 
could be left to light vessels, swift enough to escape 
if unfortunately surprised by superior force. Third. 
It is improbable enemy fleet would seek to enter Havana, 
adding to the burden of food subsistence, unless meaning 
to fight, which of course we wish. Fourth. M. does 
not think any enemy large ship would venture to enter 
any of our Atlantic ports. Torpedo vessels might, but 
they can be handled. Fifth. M. heartily approves 
naval strategy up to date, especially refusing to oppose 
ships to the Havana forts. He would not favor any 
dispersal of battleships as he is reported to have done 
to guard ports against attack. Sixth. M. requests 
secrecy as to his movements till his return." 

Travelling incognito under the name of "A. T. 
Maitland," Mahan arrived in Washington a few days 
after the receipt of the news of Admiral Dewey's success- 
ful engagement at Manila. The attention of the Board 
was consequently centred upon operations around 
Cuba. Secretary Long, in The New American Navy, 
describes the Board as having been eminently fitted 
to co-ordinate the work of the Department and the 
fleet, and to keep a general surveillance over the large 
strategical and technical questions which could not be 
dealt with by the Commanders-in-Chief of the several 
squadrons. In Mr. Long's opinion " the Board 
possessed high intelligence and excellent judgment, 
and its service was invaluable in connection with the 
successful conduct of the war." 

Immediately after reporting in Washington, Mahan, 
being strongly of opinion that official responsibility 
should be individual, addressed a letter to the Secretary 
of the Navy, recommending that he, the Secretary, 
should have but one responsible adviser, who would 
of course in turn consult^ with any number of officers 
and by any methods the Department might desire. 



90 NAVAL WAR BOARD [chap, ix 

Mahan held the conviction that the ultimate conclu- 
sion tendered to the Secretary as professional advice 
should be the undivided responsibility of one man, 
and one only. His letter was forwarded to the Secretary 
of the Navy through the President of the Board, but 
no action was taken on it. In 1903 he contributed to 
Scrihnefs Magazine a comprehensive article on the 
subject under the title of " The United States Navy 
\\ Department." This was subsequently embodied in 
Naval Administration and Warfare. 

Mahan did la valuable public service in August 1898, 
shortly after the battle of Santiago, by throwing the light 
of his unrivalled knowledge upon what was known at 
the time as the Sampson-Schley controversy, which was 
brought about, not by the naval commanders concerned, 
but by their ill-advised friends and by a section of 
the Press. Mahan gave practical and historic proof 
as to why the credit for the victory must remain with 
the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sampson, notwith- 
standing his absence and the fact that Commodore 
Schley and his fellow- commanders successfully carried 
out the details of the action as previously planned by 
the Commander-in-Chief. 

In justice to both these brave men, two extracts from 
Mahan' s letter to the Press on the subject are here 
quoted. Mahan records that in his official report to 
the Navy Department the Commander-in-Chief paid 
this tribute to Commodore Schley and the captains 
of the ships engaged : 

" The commanding officers merit the greatest praise 
for the perfect manner in which they entered into this 
plan and put it into execution. The Massachusetts, 
which, according to routine, was sent that morning to 
coal at Guantanamo, like the others had spent weary 
nights upon this work, and deserved a better fate than 
to be absent that morning. When all the work was done 
so well, it is difficult to discriminate. The object of 



1898] SAMPSON AND SCHLEY 91 

the blockade of Cervera's squadron was fully accom- 
plished, and each individual bore well his part in it — 
the Commodore in command of the Second Division, 
the captains of ships, their officers and men." 

The second extract from the same letter tells its 
own tale : 

" It would be improper to conclude without saying 
that there is not the slightest proof that Commodore 
Schley is in the least responsible for the malicious 
attempts made to depress Admiral Sampson with a view 
to exalt the second in command. On the contrary, 
when they came to his ears he telegraphed to the Navy 
Department (on July 10) his ' mortification ' at the fact, 
handsomely attributing the victory to the force under 
the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the North 
Atlantic Station : ' to him the honour is due.' More 
than this there is no occasion for him to say nor need 
he have said anything but for the obligation forced 
upon him by the indiscreet and ungenerous clamor 
of those posing as his friends, from whom he might 
well pray to be saved." 

Captain Francis J. Higginson, of the Massachusetts y 
who shared with Sampson and his flag officers on the 
New York the cruel disappointment of just missing 
the actual engagement by a few hours, wrote Mahan 
on August 27, 1898 : 

" I want to thank you very much for your article 
about Sampson and Schley and for the very kindly 
notice of myself contained therein. After working 
hard night and day for thirty-seven days and then 
missing the battle of July third by six hours, anything 
like praise or encomium falls upon a wounded spirit 
like the blessed dew from Heaven. 

" Makorff says that ' some men have great knowledge 
and little understanding, and some men have great 
understanding and little knowledge,' but Sampson had 
both, and they were both concealed from ostentatious 
or offensive display by the most charming modesty 



92 NAVAL WAR BOARD [chap, ix 

and simplicity of manner and gentleness of personal 
intercourse which was at the same time my despair and 
my delight. . . . These attacks have moved Sampson 
even in his Nirvana-like calm of mind, and he has felt 
keenly the injustice which has been showered upon him 
in the public press. I am sure therefore that your 
championship, crushing in its passionless logic, must 
have been very welcome to him." 

Captain John S. Barnes, Naval Commander and 
author, to whose intelligent enterprise is due the 
formation of the interesting and valuable collection 
of naval works and naval historical relics which now 
constitute the Library of the Naval History Society 
in New York, wrote Mahan on August 9, 1898 : 

" I have read your capital letter in the Sun news- 
paper. It settles, once and for all, the clamor of the 
hero makers of the slap-dash newspaper variety. 
Sampson's and Schley's reports left them agape ; 
followed by your letter, there was nothing left for them 
and the newspapers which gave publicity to their 
mischievous efforts but to crawl into the most convenient 
holes accessible to them. ... I have had many 
occasions to write and speak to people about this attempt 
to sow discord between Sampson and Schley, and it is 
a matter of profound gratification to me as an ' old 
Navy man' that my views so frequently expressed 
have been so completely vindicated, and that the Navy, 
from top to bottom, has risen superior to all petty 
jealousies and internal dissensions — and stands to-day 
in the eyes of our countrymen as ' Sans peur et sans 
reproche.' 

" I am sure now that the controversy, originating 
and kept up by penny-a-liners, may be considered at 
an end. 

" I congratulate you upon the clever way you have 
treated the subject in your letter." 

Mahan' s views on the naval and military operations 
of the contending forces in the Spanish- American War 
are published in Lessons of the War with Spain (1899), 



1898] REPORT ON NAVAL WAR BOARD 93 

which Sir John Laughton described as "an admirable 
and, in the best sense, popular essay on the strategy 
of naval war." 

Some years afterwards, in 1906, Mahan was requested 
by the Navy Department to submit to the General Board 
an account of the work of the Naval War Board. This 
he did in a highly interesting and instructive report 
of some thirty pages, which he brought to a close in 
these words : " I'ortunately the war was short and 
simple. Had it lasted longer, with a more efficient 
enemy, there could not but be mistakes which careful 
previous study would have prevented." 

The brief and one-sided character of this three months' 
conflict robbed Mahan of an excellent opportunity of 
serving his country by the exercise of his remarkable 
gifts in the special sphere of knowledge in which he 
excelled. 



CHAPTER X 

THE FIRST HAGUE CONFERENCE 

" The cause of Universal Peace, upon which so much of the world's 
attention has been fixed this summer by the Hague Conference, can 
progress surely to success only upon the same conditions by which 
any other movement for good reaches its goal. It will not be advanced, 
but retarded by neglecting diligently and calmly to consider facts, to 
look them straight in the face ; to see things as they are, and not 
merely as one would wish to see them now, or as it is possible that 
our descendants may be privileged to see them in a future happier 
age." — Alfred Thayer Mahan, 1907. 

The first Peace Conference at the Hague met on May 18, 
1899, and held its historic sessions in the " House in 
the Wood "^ — the famous summer palace of the Royal 
House of Holland, built over two hundred and fifty 
years ago by the grandmother of William of Orange. 

The American Delegation consisted of the Hon. 
Andrew D. White, President, the Hon. Seth Low, the 
Hon. Stanford Newel, Captain Alfred T. Mahan, and 
Captain William Crozier, later Major- General Crozier, 
Chief of Ordnance of the United States Army. Mr. 
Fredk. W. Holls was appointed Secretary to the Delega- 
tion. 

The deliberations of the Conference throw light on 
Mahan's mental attitude towards some highly important 
phases of modern warfare. In view of the subsequent 
introduction of poison gases by the German Army 
in the late war, perhaps one of the most interesting 
features was the fact that the proposal forbidding 
the use of projectiles, the sole purpose of which was 
to spread asphyxiating gases, received but one negative 

94 



1899] POISON GASES 95 

vote, and that was cast by the United States Naval 
delegate, Captain Mahan. This resulted in the United 
States Delegation voting "No" in the full Committee 
on this proposal, and Mr. White; the President of the 
Delegation, has placed on record his personal disapproval 
of this result and the feelings of regret he experienced 
in connection with it. As Mahan has been subjected 
to a great deal of criticism on this score, it is no more 
than fair that the exact nature of his contentions should 
be recognised, and they are therefore set forth verbatim 
herein. 

Mr. White says in his autobiography : 

"As a certain disposition has been observed to 
attach odium to the view adopted by this Commission 
[i.e. the United States Delegation] in this matter, it 
seems proper to state fully and explicitly, for the 
information of the Government, that on the first 
occasion of the subject arising in Sub-committee, and 
subsequently at various times in full Committee, and 
before the Conference, the United States Naval delegate 
did not cast his vote silently, but gave the reasons, 
which at his demand were inserted in the reports of 
the day's proceedings. 

" These reasons were briefly : '1. That no shell 
emitting such gas is as yet in practical use, or has 
undergone adequate experiment ; consequently, a vote 
taken now would be in ignorance of the facts as to 
whether the results would be of a decisive character, 
or whether injury in excess of that necessary to attain 
the end of warfare, the immediate disabling of the 
enemy, would be inflicted. 

" ' 2. That the reproach of cruelty and perfidy 
addressed against these supposed shells was equally 
uttered formerly against firearms and torpedoes, both 
of which are now employed without scruple. Until 
we knew the effects of such asphyxiating shells there 
was no saying whether they would be more or less 
merciful than missiles now permitted. 

" ' 3. That it was illogical, and not demonstrably 



96 THE FIRST HAGUE CONFERENCE [chap, x 

humane, to be tender about asphyxiating men with gas, 
when all were prepared to admit that it was allowable 
to blow the bottom out of an ironclad at midnight, 
throwing four or five hundred men into the sea, to be 
choked by water, with scarcely the remotest chance 
of escape. If, and when, a shell emitting asphyxiating 
gases alone has been successfully produced, then, and 
not before, men will be able to vote intelligently on 
the subject.' " 

From this it is evident that it was no motive of 
cruelty, but what might be described as academic 
caution, which influenced Mahan at that time to record 
his vote against the proposal to prohibit the use of 
asphyxiating gases. Anyone who knew him would 
appreciate, that in the light of the information which has 
come to us of the inhuman character of these gases 
and of the horrible sufferings which the use of them 
entails, he would have been the last man to advocate 
their employment. 

The correct interpretation of his intentions would 
seem to be that while he did not advocate their use, 
he contended that little or nothing was known as to 
their effects, and his object ostensibly was to preserve 
for the benefit of the United States any advantages 
which might accrue to them from the skill of American 
chemists in the invention and manufacture of this type 
of destructive force. 

It might further be contended that Mahan' s attitude 
was in keeping with the Secretary of State's instructions 
to the Delegation, which were expressed in these prophetic 
words : 

" It is doubtful if wars will be diminished by rendering 
them less destructive, for it is the plain lesson of history 
that the periods of peace have been longer protracted 
as the cost and destructiveness of war have increased. 
The expediency of restraining the inventive genius 
of our people in the direction of devising means of 



1S99] THE MOXROE DOCTRINE 97 

defence is by no means clear, and, considering the 
temptations to which men and nations may be exposed 
in a time of conflict, it is doubtful if an international 
agreement of this nature would prove effective." 

Mr. White expressed his sentiments in this wise : 

'' To this [Captain Mahan's argument] it was answered 
and, as it seemed to me, with force — that asph\"xiatuig 
bombs might be used against towns for the destruction 
of vast numbers of non-combatants, including women 
and children, while torpedoes at sea are used only 
against the military and naval forces of the enemy. 
The original proposal was carried by a unanimous 
vote, save ours. I am not satisfied with our attitude 
on this question ; but what can a layman do when he 
has against him the foremost contemporary miHtary 
and naval experts ? My hope is that the United States 
will yet stand with the majority on the record."' 

The declaration to " abstain from the use of projec- 
tiles, the object of which is the use of asph}"xiating or 
deleterious gases," was ultimately signed by the Delega- 
tions of all the twenty-six countries represented, with 
the exception of the United States and of Great Britain. 
The British delegates voted in favour of the proposal 
provided it was agreed to unanimously. In the Hague 
Conference of 1907 the Government of Great Britain 
instructed its delegates to vote in favour of the declara- 
tion. This was done, lea%'ing the United States in 
sole opposition to it. In the first battle of Ypres 
Germany threw its sacred covenant to the winds, 
obtaining temporary advantage by the use of deadly 
gases, which had been specially invented by German 
chemists for the purpose. 

It was Admiral Mahan who introduced to the attention 
of the members of the American Delegation the expedi- 
ency of incorp>orating in the official record of the 
Proceedings of the First Peace Conference at the Hague 
the famous reservation touching the Monroe Doctrine. 



98 THE FIRST HAGUE CONFERENCE [chap, x 

" For some days," says Mr. Andrew White, " in fact 
ever since Captain Mahan on the 22nd called attention 
to Article 27 of the arbitration convention as likely 
to be considered an infringement of the Monroe Doctrine, 
our American Delegation has been greatly perplexed." 

According to Mr. Frederick W. Rolls, Secretary to 
the American Delegation : 

" The declaration was presented in the full session 
of the Conference on July 25, read by the Secretary of 
the Conference, and unanimously directed to be spread 
upon the minutes and added to the convention by a 
reference opposite the signatures of the American 
plenipotentiaries. The importance of the proceeding, 
so far as the United States of America is concerned, will 
readily be seen. Never before that day had the Monroe 
Doctrine been officially communicated to the representa- 
tives of all the Great Powers, and never before was it 
received with all the consent implied by a cordial 
acquiescence, and the immediate and unanimous adop- / 
tion of the treaty upon that condition." / 

The declaration was to this effect : 

" Nothing contained in this convention shall be so 
construed as to require the United States of America 
to depart from its traditional policy of not entering 
upon, interfering with, or entangling itself in the 
political questions or internal administration of any 
foreign State, nor shall anything contained in the 
said convention be so construed as to require the 
relinquishment, by the United States of America, 
of its traditional attitude towards purely American 
questions." 

Mr. Andrew White records that : 

" The Conference was asked whether anyone had any 
objection, or anything to say regarding it. There was 
a pause of about a minute which seemed to me about 
an hour. Not a word was said — in fact there was dead 



1899] MAHAN'S DISPASSIONATE LOGIC 99 

silence — and so our declaration embodying a reservation 
in favor of the Monroe Doctrine was duly recorded 
and became part of the proceedings." 

At the Conference the impression Mahan made upon 
the mind of a London editor — probably Mr. Henry 
Labouchere — is thus described in Truth : 

" No American of distinction used to be more lionised 
by his compatriots in Paris than Admiral Mahan 
from the time he published The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History. At the Hague Conference he played 
the part of good listener. Of all the delegates there 
he appeared to me to be the most thoughtful, as Sir 
John Fisher seemed to me to have the most buoyant 
and almost boyish freshness. Most of the delegates 
came with minds, as it were, made up according to 
briefs they held. Mahan had the deepest seriousness 
of all. This and his unassuming manner allied with 
manfulness gave him prominence. He thought before 
he spoke, and only spoke to convey with discretion 
just what he thought. No entrance he ever made in 
a log could be plainer, more truthful, or bear more 
clearly the impression of the inner man." 

There are few incidents in Mahan' s career more 
eloquent of the strength of his character than the 
courage and tenacity with which he clung to his con- 
victions at this Conference, particularly as neither 
his Government nor his colleagues were in sympathy 
with his views in several important particulars, more 
especially in connection with that vitally material 
question of the immunity of private property at sea. 
The measure of his influence on this occasion may be 
gauged by the difficulties experienced by President 
Andrew White in reconciling the views of the other 
American delegates and the instructions of the Govern- 
ment, on the one hand, with the dispassionate logic of 
Mahan, on the other. 
8 



100 THE FIRST HAGUE CONFERENCE [chap, x 

Let Mr. White speak in his own words. In his 
autobiography he says : 

" Then to the hotel and began work on the draft 
of a report, regarding the whole work of the conference, 
to the State Department. I was especially embarrassed 
by the fact that the wording of it must be suited to 
the scruples of my colleague Captain Mahan. He is 
a man of the highest character and of great ability, 
whom I respect and greatly like ; but, as an old naval 
officer, wedded to the views generally entertained by 
older members of the naval and military service, he 
has had very little, if any, sympathy with the main 
purposes of the Conference, and has not hesitated to 
declare his disbelief in some of the measures which we 
were especially instructed to press. In his books 
he is on record against the immunity of private property 
at sea, and in drawing up our memorial to the Conference 
regarding this latter matter, in making my speech with 
reference to it in the Conference, and in preparing our 
report to the State Department, I have been embarrassed 
by this fact. It was important to have unanimity, and 
it could not be had, so far as he was concerned, without 
toning down the whole thing, and, indeed, leaving out 
much that, in my judgment, the documents emanating 
from us on the subject ought to contain. So now, in 
regard to arbitration, as well as the other measures 
finally adopted, his feelings must be considered. Still, 
his views have been an excellent tonic ; they have 
effectively prevented any lapse into sentimentality. 
When he speaks the millennium fades and this stern, 
severe, actual world appears." 

A tribute from so eminent an American citizen as 
Mr. Seth Low, one of the most distinguished of Mahan' s 
colleagues at the Conference, may be fitly here presented : 

" 30, East 64th Stbeet, 

" December 6, 1914. 

" Dear Mrs. Mahan, — 

" My acquaintance with Admiral Mahan has 
always been to me a source of great pleasure and of 
personal profit, for there was mingled in him so much 



1899] TRIBUTE FROM SETH LOW 101 

earnestness as to make him always both a pleasant 
companion and an inspiring friend. 

" I particularly enjoyed my association with him at 
the Hague Conference in 1899. I once said of him, 
when speaking to the American School at Rome, that 
his achievement in discovering such a book as Sea 
Power in History in the musty ashes of the Punic 
Wars, as he himself told me that he did, was an 
encouragement to every student to study the past with 
understanding eyes, in the assurance that its lessons 
have not yet all been learned. 

" The Admiral's place as an historian is assured. 
I send to you and yours the sympathy of one who feels 
that in the Admiral's death he has lost a valued friend. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" Seth Low." 

In a special memorial article in The New York Times 
of December 1, 1914, the day Mahan passed away in 
Washington, occurs this appreciation of his services 
at the Hague : 

" There were distinct reasons why the American 
people congratulated themselves upon the presence of 
Admiral Mahan (then Captain Mahan) in the first Hague 
Conference. He was not only a naval strategist and 
scholar, but was even then regarded as the most eminent 
living expert in naval strategy. Then he had always 
consistently advocated strong navies and preparedness 
for war with special reference to naval influence in . 
making for peace. Added to his equipment as a diplo- 
matist in the delicate and complex task before the 
Hague Conference was his experience as a public man 
who had been hailed as the first great exponent of the 
philosophy of sea power." 

These words seem to strike the keynote of Mahan' s 
attitude towards peace, for he was a humanitarian who 
believed in the maintenance of such naval strength 
as might reasonably be deemed sufficient to deter any 
possible enemy from breaking the peace. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE CHESNEY GOLD MEDAL 

" Admiral Mahan was not only a fine type of naval officer, but 
possessed a lovable character that endeared him to all with whom 
he came in contact. His attainments, which gave him a world-wide 
renown, were of immeasurable value to the country he loved and 
served, and though he is gone, his works happily remain as a guide 
and inspiration not only for this generation, but for all that are to 
come." — JosEPHTjs Daniels, Secretary of the Navy. 

A UNIQUE honour was yet to be added to the sum of 
Mahan' s triumphs in England. 

In the year 1622 that portion of the new Palace of 
Whitehall known as the Banqueting House was com- 
pleted from the original design of Inigo Jones. The 
ceiling was painted by Rubens, and down its length, 
under the glorious colouring of those nine magnificent 
panels which the monarch himself had commissioned 
the great artist to produce, passed King Charles I 
through one of its windows ^ facing on Whitehall to 
his tragic fate on the rude wooden scaffold outside. 

This beautiful building now shelters the Naval and 
Military Museum of the Royal United Service Institution, 
which on June 25, 1831, at the Thached House Tavern 
in St. James's Street, was founded by a number of 
highly distinguished naval and military officers. Subse- 
quently it was established in its permanent abode in 
the fine building erected for the purpose next door to 

1 Or possibly tlirough a part of one of the window spaces which 
were then solid on the Wliitehall frontage, but from which the bricks 
had been specially removed for the occasion — one of the many pre- 
cautions taken by the regicides from fear of a popular demonstration. 

102 



1900] THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE 103 

the Banqueting House, which contains, among other 
exhibits of historic interest, numerous relics of Napoleon, 
including the skeleton of his famous grey horse, Marengo, 
and large models of Trafalgar and the Battle of Waterloo.^ 

So it came about that nearly three hundred j'^ears 
later a nineteenth-century institution of illustrious 
origin and associations, housing its priceless historic 
treasures in this famous old landmark of bygone days, 
elected to confer upon Mahan a conspicuous and 
unexpected honour. 

The Council of the Institution, under the Presidency 
of the Duke of Cambridge, a lifelong soldier, cousin 
of Queen Victoria, and Commander-in-Chief of the British 
Army, unanimously resolved to invite Mahan to accept 
the distinction of the first award of the Chesney Gold 
Medal. 

This honour was enhanced not only by the circum- 
stances of the award being made before any of the 
eminent naval writers of the day had been selected, 
but by the additional fact that writers on military 
subjects were also eligible for the distinction. Much 
to his surprise and gratification, Mahan received the 
following letter from Mr. Long, Secretary of the Navy : 

" Navy Department, Washington, 
"June 30, 1900. 

" Sir,— 

" I have the honour to transmit herewith a letter 
addressed by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cam- 
bridge, President of the United Service Institution, 
to yourself, conveying to you the award of the Chesney 
Gold Medal in recognition of your literary works 
bearing on the welfare of the British Empire, together 

1 The modem exhibits include a fine specimen of that epoch-marking 
English invention the Whitehead torpedo, which has revolutionised 
naval warfare. The beauties of the Rubens ceiling are best examined 
by means of a looking-glass held in the hand, for the proportions of 
that Inigo Jones masterpiece are such that the painter's brilliant 
conception is more than fifty feet overhead. 



104 THE CHESNEY GOLD MEDAL [chap, xi 

with the gold medal, both having been received from 
the State Department through the British Ambassador 
at the Capitol. 

" I take great pleasure in forwarding you the medal 
and the letter, and in assuring you that I consider it 
a great honour to the Naval Service of the United 
States. 

*' Yours very respectfully, 
" John D. Long, 

" Secretary. 
" Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N. Retired, 
" 160, West 86th Street, 
" New York, N.Y." 

The gold medal, of the beauty of which the repro- 
ductions by Tiffany on another page give some con- 
ception, was accompanied by this communication 
from the Duke of Cambridge : 

" Royal United Servick Institution, Whitehall, London, S.W., 

" May 31, 1900. 

" Sir,— 

" The Council of the Royal United Service 
Institution of Great Britain, of which I am President, 
have requested me to be the medium of communicating 
to you a resolution which was carried at a recent meeting 
of their body. 

" The Gold Medal, founded in memory of the late 
General Sir George Chesney, a distinguished officer 
of the Royal Engineers, is to be awarded, from time to 
time, on the decision of the Council of the Royal United 
Service Institution, to the author who has produced an 
original literary work, treating of naval or military 
science and literature, and which has a bearing on the 
welfare of the British Empire. 

" The first award of the medal having come under 
the consideration of the Council, it was resolved that 
you should be invited to accept the distinction, in con- 
sideration of the three great works of which you are 
the author : The Influence of Sea Power upon History , 
The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution 
and Empire, and The Life of Nelson. 



1900] APPRECIATION 105 

" It is a matter of satisfaction to me to be the means 
of assuring you that the award has been made at the 
unanimous wish of the Royal United Service Institution 
of this country, which was founded, and" is maintained, 
for the promotion of naval and military art, science, 
and literature in the British Empire. 
" I am, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 
" George, 

" President. 
" Captain A. T. Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D., 
" United States Navy." 



Here is Mahan' s reply : 



" QuoGUE, New Yobk, 

"July 10, 1900. 



" His Royal Highness 

" The Duke of Cambridge. 
" Sir,— 

" I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
of your letter of the 31st May, transmitting to me 
the Chesney Gold Medal, with the gratifying notification 
that the Council of the Royal United Service Institution 
have awarded it to me in recognition of the bearing of 
my works — The Influence of Sea Power and The Life 
of Nelson — upon the welfare of the British Empire. 

" In expressing my thanks it seems scarcely necessary 
to say how deeply I feel the personal honour of this 
distinction conferred by the unanimous wish of a 
professional organisation of the high standing of this, 
over which Your Royal Highness presides. May 
I be permitted to add that I value even more highly, 
if that be possible, the assurance that, in such competent 
judgment, my works have contributed in some degree 
to the welfare of the British Empire, the strength of 
which is so essential to the cause of our English-speaking 
race and of mankind in general ? 
" With profoundest respect, 

" Your most obedient servant, 
" A. T. Mahan, 
" Captain, U.S. Navy.'' 



106 THE CHESNEY GOLD MEDAL [chap, xi 

General Sir George Chesney, although by profession 
an officer of the Royal Engineers, and eventually 
a Member of Parliament, was more widely known to 
fame as the author of The Battle of Dorking, an historical 
allegory, which so dramatically described the invasion 
of England and the destruction of the British Fleet 
by the Germans as to create a nation-wide sensation. 

A couple of years later Mahan received a further 
announcement from Colonel Holder, Secretary of the 
Institution, and this is what it contained : 

" Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall, London, S.W., 

" November 10, 1902. 

" Sir,— 

" I have the honour to inform you that, at a 
meeting of the Council held on the 4th instant, you were, 
subject to your acceptance, unanimously elected an 
Honorary Member for Life of the Royal United Service 
Institution, in consideration of your valuable contri- 
butions to literature bearing on the Naval History of 
Great Britain. 

" I have the honour to be, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 
" A. Holder, 
" Lt. -Colonel, Secretary. 
" Captain Alfred T. Mahan, D.C.L., LL.D., 
" United States Navy." 

The award of the Chesney Gold Medal under the 
circumstances described, although to the man in the 
street possibly an event of comparatively httle signi- 
ficance at the time, will now appeal to all advocates 
of the promotion of cordial Anglo-American relations 
as a powerful link in the chain which is daily binding 
the two nations closer together in the cause of human 
happiness ; for it struck a new and resonant note in 
American literary achievement, and recorded with no 
uncertain voice the appreciation and gratitude of a 
great nation for the voluntary performance of a friendly 
and invaluable national service on the part of an 
American naval officer. 



CHAPTER XII 

OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES 

" Few beyond his family and his intimate friends knew him as he 
really was. The strength and sympathetic nature of his character 
were not worn on his sleeve. His mind was in an upper story above 
us all." — Admiral Charles H. Stockton, U.S. Navy. 

In 1896 Mahan retired as Captain on his own application, 
after forty years' service in the Navy. He was then 
fifty-six, but for sixteen years after this he was employed 
by the Government in various capacities and was 
retained for special duty in connection with the Naval 
War College, of which he had twice been President. 

Following the distinguished example of Oxford and 
Cambridge, Harvard University in 1895, and Yale two 
years later, conferred upon Mahan the degree of LL.D. 

It was not until the year 1900, ten years after the 
publication of The Influence of Sea Power upon History , 
that his own alma mater, Columbia, conferred a similar 
degree, an honour which he also received some years 
later from Dartmouth College and, subsequently, 
in 1909, from McGill University, Montreal. 

When Prince Henry of Prussia visited America, 
Mahan was appointed a member of the Committee of 
Reception. At Cowes in 1895 the German Emperor 
had entertained him on his yacht Hohenzollern, and had 
presented him with a large framed photograph of 
himself, bearing his autograph. 

He was President of the American Historical Associa- 
tion in 1902, and an honorary member of the Society 
pf American Arts and Letters and of the National 

107 



108 OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES [chap, xii 

Institute of Arts and Letters. His scholarly address as 
President of the American Historical Association can 
be found in Naval Administration and Warfare, under 
the title of Subordination in Historical Treatment. 
In 1894 he had been elected a corresponding member 
of the Massachusetts Historical Society, being similarly 
honoured by the Geographical Society of Lisboa, 
and a few years later the Minnesota Historical Society 
elected him an honorary member. Had he in any way 
sought them directly or indirectly, there would have been 
no limit to the distinctions he could have received from 
learned societies and eminent personages all over the 
world. 

Writing to a friend in 1910, he said : 

" You do not seem as impressed as I myself am with the 
fact that I have attained three score and ten. The term 
is so significant with me that I look now upon my easing 
life as a kind of appendix. I was immensely surprised 
and, I own, pleased, to receive by cable congratulations 
on the day from a Dutch Admiral in the name of the 
officers of their Navy, and also from the Dutch Navy 
League." 

He served on several important committees during 
President Roosevelt's administration. In 1909 he 
was appointed by the President a member of a Com- 
mission to report on the reorganisation of the Navy 
Department. The results of the deliberations of this 
body were subsequently made known to Congress 
by the President. The Commission,^ which included 
such distinguished men as Admiral Luce and Admiral 
Robley Evans, substantially endorsed Mahan's views, 
and among other interesting controversial questions 
recommended that the officer best fitted to command the 

1 Consisting of the Hon. William H. Moody, Hon. Alston G. 
Dayton, Hon. Paul Morton, Rear-Admiral S. B. Luce, Rear-Admiral 
A. T. Mahan, Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans, Rear-Admiral William 
M. Folger, and Rear-Admiral William S. Cowles. 



1909] NAVAL REORGANISATION 109 

great fleet in time of war should be appointed head of 
a permanent advisory board, and that he alone should 
be the responsible adviser of the Secretary of the Navy. 
On the recommendation of this Commission, the 
President nominated a joint Commission of naval and 
military men, including Admiral Sperry, General 
Franldin Bell, and other prominent officers, * to report 
on matters vital to national defence, more especially 
in connection with the location of Navy yards and 
Navy bases. Over this Commission Mahan was chosen 
to preside. Here is his letter of appointment : 

" Sir, 

" I desire to appoint you as Chairman of a Com- 
mission for the purposes indicated in my Message to 
Congress, of which I send you herewith a copy. 

" I also send you herewith copy of a memorandum 
prepared for me by a naval officer of high rank, to 
which I invite your attention in connection with your 
work. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

It would be difficult to estimate how much of the 
growth and efficiency of the United States Navy the 
American people owe to the resourceful brain, untiring 
energies and foresight of Mr. Roosevelt, among whose 
innumerable activities for the public welfare was the 
formation of a Committee on Department Methods, 
on one of the sub-committees of which Mahan sat 
and advised on historical records and naval archives. 
No wonder Mr. Roosevelt appeals to the strenuous 
section of the community. Throughout the United States 
the two most popular things would seem to be the 
strains of " Dixie " and the mention of Theodore 

1 Rear- Admiral A. T. Mahan, Chairman ; Rear-Admiral Richard 
Wainwright ; Captain C. McR. Winslow ; Brigadier- General W. W. 
Wetherspoon, General Staff, President Army War College ; Brigadier- 
General W. L. Marshall, Chief of Engineers. 



110 OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES [chap, xii 

Roosevelt's name. Both command instant acclaim.^ 
Some idea of the fertihty of that restless mind may be 
had by analysing the far-reaching scope and purport 
of the directions given to the members of the Commission 
on Naval Reorganisation. 

This is the text of the letter of appointment written 
to Mahan and the other members of the Commission : 

" My dear Sir, 

" I have appointed you as a member of a 
Commission to consider certain needs of the Navy. 
The organisation of the Department is now not such 
as to bring the best results, and there is a failure to 
co-ordinate the work of the Bureaus and to make the 
Department serve the one end for which it was created, 
that is, the development and handling of a first-class 
fighting fleet. With this proposition in view I will 
ask you to consider : 

"1. All defects in the law under which the Navy 
Department is now organised, including especially 
the defects by which the authority of Chiefs of Bureaus 
is made in certain respects practically equal to that 
of the Secretary or the President. 

" 2. The division of responsibility and consequent 
lack of co-ordination in the preparations for war and 
conduct of war. 

" 3. The functions of certain Bureaus, so as to see 
whether it is not possible to consolidate them. 

" 4. The necessity of providing the Secretary of the 
Navy with military advisers, who are responsible to 
him for co-ordinating the work of the Bureaus and for 
preparation for war. 

" 5. The necessity for economical allotment and 
disbursement of appropriations and for a system which 
will secure strict accountability. 

" 6. Finally, I want your views as to how best to 
recognise and emphasise the strictly military character 
of the Navy, so that preparations for war shall be 
controlled under the Secretary by the military branch 

1 Written before Mr. Roosevelt's death. 




Copyri(jht, Undericood tt UndernouJ. 

THEODORE EOOSEVELT. 



:iio] 



1909-12] DETACHED FROM OFFICIAL DUTY 111 

of the Navy, which bears the responsibiHty for the 
successful conduct of war operations. 

" I wish to have the above subjects considered under 
two general heads : 

" First, as to the fundamental principles of an organi- 
sation that will insure an efficient preparation for war 
in time of peace, a separate report under this head 
to be submitted at the earliest practicable date. 

" Second, specific recommendations as to the changes 
in the present organisation that will accomplish this 
result, the report under this head to be submitted 
later. 

" In addition to the above reports I desire your 
recommendation as to the number, location, and general 
facilities of the Navy yards which are required by 
strategic considerations in time of war and for maintain- 
ing the fleet in constant readiness for war in time of 
peace. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

Acting under instructions from the Navy Department, 
Mahan gave lectures at the sessions of the Naval War 
College held in 1909, 1910, and 1911. About this 
time he also appeared before the House Naval Committee 
in connection with matters affecting the Council for the 
National Defence. He was detached from all official 
duty on June 6, 1912, three months before his seventy- 
second birthday, having given fifty-six years of his life 
to the service of his country. 



CHAPTER XIII 

LATER PUBLICATIONS 

To mortals are the parents of Genius unknown. Chief among 
her progenitors is Symmetry. Her good fairy is Adversity. Gold 
impedes her development. Wayward and capricious is she, incom- 
parably endowed, siorpassing knowledge. To Eccentricity, first cousin. 
Brothers and sisters has she, most rare and precious ; Charm, Beauty, 
the Matchless Voice, the Flawless Emerald, the Sinless Soul. One 
thing it is given to mortals to know ; the foster-mother of Genius is 
Industry. 

Some of the attributes of genius Mahan possessed : 
industry, perseverance, vision, and the capacity for 
taking infinite pains. The fact that he wrote The 
Life of Nelson when he was fifty-five years of age, and 
the other works mentioned in this chapter between the 
fifty-seventh and seventy-second years of his fife, may 
prove of encouragement to those who have already 
passed middle age, yet feel that they have a message 
to deliver. The sixteen years from 1896 to 1912 
were productive of an immense amount of valuable 
work, and gave to the world, in addition to the greatest 
Life of Nelson yet written, a large number of highly 
interesting articles which were first published in leading 
periodicals of the day, including, among others, the 
Atlantic Monthly, North American Review, Scrihnefs, 
Century, Harper^s New Monthly, Forum, Leslie's, World's 
Work, McClure's, and the National Review. These 
were then issued in book form under the titles of 
The Interest of America in Sea Power Present and Future 
(1897), Lessons of the War with Spain (1899), The 
Problem of Asia (1900), Retrospect and Prospect (1902), 
Some Neglected Aspects of War (1907), Naval Administra- 

112 



1890] "THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY" 113 

lion and Warfare (1908), and Armaments and Arbitration 

(1912), referred to elsewhere. 

The idea of enhghtenkig the public mind in the United 

States on questions of politico-naval import through 

the medium of magazine articles probably emanated 

in the first instance from the Editor of the Atlantic 

Monthly, who wrote Mahan the following letter in 

August 1890 : 

" Editorial Office of ' The Atlantic Monthly,' Boston, 

" August 27, 1890. 

" Dear Sir, 

" I have been struck with a passage on p. 42 
of your admirable work on The Influence of Sea Power, 
in which you call attention to the defenceless condition 
of the Pacific coast in the event of the piercing of the 
Isthmus. It raises the question in my mind whether 
you may not have material for an interesting paper of 
say 4,000 words in the Atlantic, expanding the sugges- 
tion. That is to say, the centre of maritime operations 
has shifted once from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. 
It may pass in the distant future to the Pacific. Mean- 
while, would not the completion of a canal taken with 
the British movements at the terminus of the Canadian 
Pacific and occidentalising of Japan and the growth 
of Australasia immensely quicken the process ? and 
if this be so, will not the Pacific coast of our country 
become a far more potent factor in our historical 
development than it has been, and is not Government 
bound to take steps for the protection of that frontier ? 
I believe you once served on a Commission charged 
with the selection of a site for a Navy yard on the north- 
west coast, and I fancy these subjects have more or 
less occupied your mind. 

" Perhaps I am outlining too broad a paper, but 
I wished to indicate my pleasure in your book, and my 
hope that you might be induced to give us such an 
article as the above or one on some kindred topic. 
" Very truly yours, 

" Horace E. Scudder, 

" Ed., Atlantic Monthly. 
" Capt. A. T. Mahan." 



114 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

The outcome of this suggestion was the publication 
of several articles in the Atlantic Monthly and other 
periodicals between 1890 and 1897, in which latter 
year they appeared in book form as The Interest of 
America in Sea Power, Present and Future. 

Into no other language — with the possible exception 
of German — have so many of Mahan's books been 
translated as into Japanese ; and it would be difficult 
to estimate the extent to which the remarkable growth 
of the Japanese Navy has been due to his writings. 
In 1897 the Oriental Association of Tokyo sent Mahan 
the following communication : 

" 'Tis the greatest honor of mine to inform you that 
your valuable work on The Influence of Sea Power upon 
History is lately translated by the Club of Naval Officers 
into our own language and published from our associa- 
tion in such a form as you see under separate cover. 
The association was first organised in 1892, and has at 
present 1,300 ministers of State, members of the Diet, 
civil and military officers, editors, bankers, merchants, 
nay, all sorts of our educational people, as its members. 
The chief aim of the association is to investigate various 
questions of policy and diplomacy, both historical and 
contemporary. To realise the purpose we have been 
having an occasional public lecture, issuing a monthly 
report, publishing several books of diplomatical value, 
dispatching our own correspondents to seats of questions, 
submitting our proposals to the consideration of our 
Department of Foreign Affairs, etc., etc. 

" Translation of your valuable book we adopted as 
one of our honorable transactions. Our purpose was, 
indeed, to give our countrymen the knowledge of naval 
affairs, at present the most important knowledge in 
this part of the world. The facts show that our humble 
purpose is realised. The Japanese edition of your 
valuable work attracted the attention of our public, 
the Naval and Military Colleges have adopted it as their 
textbook. 

" We presented a volume to each of Their Majesties 



1897] 



ADMIRAL TOGO'S TRIBUTE 



115 



the Emperor and Crown Prince of Japan and received 
an honor of Their Majesties' approval. Subsequently 
the Imperial Household Department bought from us 
three hundred volumes in accordance with the royal 
purpose of subscribing to every middle, higher middle, 
















TRANSLATION OP ADMIRAL COUNT TOGO'S TRIBUTE TO 
ADMIRAL MAHAN 

" Naval strategists of all nations are of one opinion that Admiral Mahan's works will for ever 
occupy the highest position as a world-wide authority in the study of military science. I 
express my deep and cordial reverence for his far-reaching Imowledge and keen judgement. 

" Admiral Count Hbihaohiro Togo. 

" May 6th, the 7th year of Taisho." 

and normal school in Japan. To tell the truth, several 
thousand volumes were sold in a day or two. 

" These parts already published correspond to the 
first volume of your original copy. So for the second 
9 



116 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

and third volumes, they are now under translation by 
the same club and will be published soon after. 

" We will be much obliged if you will send us any 
other work of yours useful to our association and 
country." 

A notable endorsement of Mahan's world-wide 
influence will be found in the autograph tribute of that 
distinguished Japanese veteran Admiral Count Togo 
which is here reproduced, and which Admiral Togo 
graciously wrote for this book. 

When The Interest of America in Sea Power ^ Present 
and Future was translated into the Japanese language, 
the Hon. Kentaro Kaneko, ex-Minister of Agriculture 
and Commerce, wrote this preface for it : 

" While on a tour of inspection through Europe and 
America in 1899, under Japanese Government, I came 
across for the first time a book entitled The Influence 
of Sea Power upon History, by Captain Mahan, the 
author of the present volume. In reading through the 
book many points of doubt which had for years existed 
in my mind were all cleared away. After coming 
home I had a part of the introduction of the book 
translated and showed it to Count Saigo, then Minister 
of the Navy, who in turn gave it to Suikosha to be 
published in its reports. Since then every issue of his 
work has been carefully read. 

" His work just mentioned caused great awakening 
in the world. The Influence of Sea Power upon the 
French Revolution and Empire has put the French 
people to astonishment. His Life of Nelson, The 
Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain, opened 
the eyes of the English people ; and now The Interest 
of America in Sea Power awakens the Americans from 
their sleep. These are all standard works and cannot 
be excelled. 

" My friend, Mr. M. Minakami, has in the intervals 
of his official duties recently translated Captain Mahan's 
work on The Interest of America in Sea Power, and 



1898-1900] JAPANESE APPRECIATION] 117 

published it under the title of The Sea Power in the Pacific 
Ocean. 

" Our Empire, recognised as the foremost of maritime 
countries in the Pacific, should, in spite of the short 
time since her awakening, become conscious of this fact, 
and increase more and more her power as such among 
the nations of the world. 

" My desire is that my fellow-countrymen should read 
this book in such a spirit, and put forth an effort to 
make their country a great sea power in the Pacific 
Ocean. 

"Kentaro Kaneko. 

" April 1899." 

Senator Lodge's opinion of Mahan's standing as an 
authority on naval warfare is reflected in the following 
letter received about this time : 

" Personal. 

" United States Senate, Washington, D.C, 
" October 19, 1898. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" Many thanks for your kind note of the 18th, 
which gives me just the information I wanted. 

" I am very glad to know that you are going to 
write papers for the Century on the two great battles 
of Santiago and Manila. Mine will be simply the 
popular treatment of those actions by the general 
historian, whereas yours will be a conclusive discussion 
by the greatest authority living or dead on naval 
warfare. I do not think that they are likely to clash 
in any way, although I think it highly probable that 
my general conception may accord with your views, 
for I venture to hope that I have not studied your 
teachings upon this subject wholly in vain. 
" With kindest regards, 

"■ Very sincerely yours, 

" H. C. Lodge. 
" Captain A. T. Mahan." 

The year 1900 saw the publication of Types of Naval 
Officers, one of the most attractive and interesting of 



118 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

all his books. His critical analysis of military opera- 
tions in The Story of the War in South Africa appeals 
to students of modern warfare on land. A German 
General wrote from Gottingen asking permission to 
translate it for the benefit of his countrymen. Here 
is his letter : 

" My dear Sir, 

" Yesterday I read in the Daily News, that there 
is about to appear in London a history of the war in 
South Africa by Captain A. Mahan. As I am well 
acquainted with your excellent work The Influence of 
Sea Power on History, I take it for granted that your 
new performance will give a description of the Boer 
War as clear and impartial as the existing circumstances 
permit. 

" Nobody is more in want of such a book as my 
countrymen, where sound judgment is clouded by an 
Anglophobia that passes all bounds. 

" I take therefore the liberty to ask you, if you will 
authorise me to translate the history of the war in 
South Africa into the German language. 
" Looking forward to a kind answer, 
" I am, my dear Sir, 

" Your most obedient servant, 
*' C. Schwartz, 

" Major-GeneraV^ 

To this Collier's made no objection : 

" ' Collier's Weekly,' Editobial Department, 
" New York, November 21, 1900. 

" Dear Captain Mahan, 

" In reply to yours of November 20. There 
can be no possible objection on our part to the transla- 
tion into German of your book on the South African 
War, nor should I consider such a translation to infringe 
in any sense upon the English and colonial rights 
which Mr. Marston secured from me, provided only 
that the translation shall not be sold in England or 
the English colonies. You have, therefore, my full 



1901] THE "NATIONAL REVIEW" 119 

permission to accede to Major-General Schwartz's 
request. As a matter of form it might be well for you 
to advise Mr. Marston of the request and of my consent 
to the acceptance of it. 

" Very truly yours, 

" Robert J. Collier." 



Nor was this the only one of these later publications 
to be translated into a foreign language : 

" St. Dunstan's House, Fettrr Lane, 

" London, E.G., December 14, 1904. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" I have an offer of 500 francs (say £20) for the 
exclusive rights for the French language for a translation 
of The Interest of America in Sea Power. I have told 
the Paris Professor who makes the offer that I doubt 
if you will think it enough. 

" The difficulty is to get more. I expect there is 
truth in what he says as to the work addressing itself 
to a special restricted public. 

" His address is — Professor Izoulet, 2 Boulevard 
St. Germain, Paris, in case you would like to write 
to him direct, or perhaps get your brother to call on 
him. You might ask for £25, but I think you would 
be wise to take £20, if he will not rise. 

" With all good wishes for you and yours for Christ- 
mas and the New Year, 

" I am, yours sincerely, 

" R, B. Marston. 

" We have been hoping you would be on that Interntl. 
Naval Commission." 

Towards the end of 1901 Mahan began contributing 
articles to the National Review. Five of these appear 
in the collection of essays published in 1902 under the 
title Retrospect and Prospect. The association appears 
to have been mutually beneficial and agreeable, and 
the interesting letters of the Editor, Mr. Maxse, abound 



120 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

in expressions of appreciation of Mahan's contributions, 
as the following extracts bear witness : 

" I think you may be interested to receive the first 
impressions which your article has made on the leading 
British newspapers. I sent round advance copies 
yesterday, and all that I have seen refer to it in their 
first leading article this morning, and I feel pretty 
sure it is the same in the leading provincial papers. 
It is certainly a long time since any Review article has 
received such a reception in the newspapers, and you 
will see from the tone of the articles how greatly appreci- 
ated it is. I cannot help being glad that you animadvert, 
though with much discretion and reserve, upon the 
conduct of our Government. I could not well exaggerate 
the enjoyment with which I read it. I earnestly hope 
that, as I have been so fortunate in inducing you to 
become a contributor to the National Review, when you 
may be next disposed to say something to the British 
public you will make use of the same organ, which 
will always be at your service." 

These remarks referred to The Influence of the South 
African War upon the Prestige of the British Empire, 
and were followed by this invitation to contribute 
further articles : 

" During the Persian Gulf discussion, which has 
now gone on for some months, your name has been 
constantly appealed to, as you may observe from the 
enclosed letter written in yesterday's Times by Captain 
Younghusband. Would you not write an article for 
the National Review on the strategic importance of 
the Persian Gulf ? We dread the reproduction in the 
Persian Gulf of a similar situation to that which occurred 
in the Gulf of Pechili, when Germany went to Kiouchou, 
thus driving Russia into Port Arthur and ourselves to 
Wei-hai-wei. Those behind the scenes are convinced 
that Germany intends to play a similar game in the 
Persian Gulf. 

I should indeed be a proud Editor if I thought that 



1901] EDITORIAL APPROBATION 121 

during the next year I might expect to have such 
subjects discussed by you in the National Review as 
(1) the strategic importance of the Persian Gulf; (2) 
the strategic distribution of British squadrons ; (3) 
the present position of the Monroe Doctrine ; (4) the 
problem of the Far East ; and possibly (5) the real 
objective of the German Navy ? 

" Is there any chance of your being willing to promote 
the dispassionate discussion of some of these questions 
from the independent standpoint which you almost 
alone among living writers seem to be able to adopt ? 
I need not say how delighted I should be if you were 
favourably disposed to entertain this suggestion." 

The next article to appear was Motives to Imperial 
Federation, and this is what Mr. Maxse said of it : 

" Your paper on Imperial Federation has made a 
great impression on all thoughtful people, and has 
been very widely read. In spite of the extraordinary 
amount of topics pressing for notice in the middle of 
the Session, it had the remarkable reception it deserved. 
In the most important speech he has made this year 
Mr. Chamberlain used your comparison of Ireland and 
South Africa for his peroration, as you have probably 
seen. Your essay will help very much in forming and 
guiding sound opinion in what I cannot help thinking 
may prove to be one of the most pregnant years in our 
existence as an Empire. The Colonial Premiers will 
be arriving within a few weeks, anxious to put forward 
the predominant views of each of their localities, and 
they will be met by British statesmen, many of whom 
are only ' imperial ' in name, and taking a purely 
local British view. Your article will help both parties 
to see the whole subject in its proper perspective. 
It is a great honour to the National Review to be the 
medium for such a pronouncement. 

" We all wish you were going to be over here for 
the Colonial Conference as amicus curice" 

Next followed Considerations Governing the Disposi- 
tion of Navies and The Persian Gulf and International 



122 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

Relations, and the Editor of the National Review wrote 
Mahan, who was then in America : 

" Many thanks for your note of May 23 announcing 
the approaching departure of your paper on the disposi- 
tion of Navies, which I look forward to with the greatest 
pleasure, all the more as it could hardly arrive at a 
more opportune moment. I shall publish it, of course, 
in the July number. 

One of the great features, if I may be permitted to 
say so, of your honoured assistance has been that the 
National Review has occupied the proud position this 
year of enjoying a monopoly of your pronouncements 
on the great questions which you have discussed on this 
side. This, of course, has immensely added to their 
value from the editorial point of view. We have been 
so lucky, if I may use the plural, in the really remark- 
able timeliness of your papers during the past year ; 
the one, for example, on the Persian Gulf, following on 
the visit of the Shah of Persia, making the whole 
question instinct with actuality, to say nothing of the 
strategic paper published in the middle of our great 
naval discussions ; while that on the South African 
War appeared on the eve of the negotiations which 
terminated the war. These utterances were recognised 
on all hands as being the most important on their 
respective subjects which had yet been made." 

A continuance of these happy relations is reflected 
in these concluding extracts from Mr. Maxse's letters : 

" I am delighted to hear that you contemplate 
a further paper discussing the relation of the Monroe 
Doctrine to World-politics, which undoubtedly excites 
greater interest on this side of the Atlantic, either in 
England or on the Continent, than any other inter- 
national question at the present time, and I need not 
say that it will be most welcome to the National Review 
whenever you find yourself at leisure to write it. 

" Your previous contributions to the National Review 
during the last few months have given it a great lift, 
and I think it is not my personal bias which makes me 



1906] AUTOBIOGRAPHY 123 

say that it is now regarded by people who take a serious 
interest in the larger political issues as the leading 
English review. 

"It is clearly understood that I am to take three 
articles from you during the next year at the rate of 
500 dollars each, you to have the right of republication 
in book form within two months of the appearance of 
the final article." 

On the suggestion of Messrs. Harper & Brothers/ 
Mahan wrote in 1906, under the title of From Sail to 
Steam, his recollections of naval life, a type of breezy 
autobiography which reflects his old-world simplicity 
and his own particular brand of that " blessed sense 
of humour which rainbows the tears of the world." 
Autobiography has its own peculiar limitations, as 
Frances Ridley Havergal has said : 

" Ah no I We write our lives indeed, but in a cypher 
none can read except the author, for though he break 
the seal, no power has he to give the key, no license 
to reveal. We wait the all-declaring day, when love 
shall know as it is known ; till then the secrets of our 
lives are ours and God's alone." 

Here is Harper & Brothers' letter covering the arrange- 
ment for the publication of From Sail to Steam : 

" Haepeb, & Beothebs, Publishers, New York City, 

" August 30, 1906. 

" Deae, Captain Mahan, 

" We are writing to say that we accept the proposi- 
tion in regard to the serial and book publication of 
your Recollections which you were good enough to 
make yesterday. 

" A copy of your memorandum follows : 

" ' I will agree to concede all serial rights in the 
Recollections of My Life (or whatever title chosen) to 

^ " You will be amused to hear that at the request of one of our 
big publishing houses I am writing my Recollections. At first I 
laughed, ' Nothing ever happened to me,' but what with old naval yarns, 
etc., etc., and incidents of one sort or another, I am surprised how 
many words I have written." — A. T. M. 



124 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

Harper & Brothers for $3,000 (three thousand dollars), 
with subsequent book publication, subject to a royalty 
to me of fifteen per cent, of retail price ; with the 
reservation that after lapse of five years from date of 
such publication, it will be permissible to include the 
work in a collected edition of my works by such publisher 
as I may select. 

" ' A. T. Mahan.' 

" We understand that the total length of the Recol- 
lections will be about 100,000 words, and the MS. will 
probably be completed by the end of the year. We 
should be very glad of any special suggestions which 
may occur to you regarding the announcements, if you 
find this convenient. 

" We are writing briefly now that the matter be 
definitely arranged, but we should like to express our 
high appreciation of an association which we shall 
use every means in our power to render perfectly 
satisfactory to you. We will forward the formal agree- 
ment shortly, and other details can be readily arranged 
a little later. 

" We are, with assurances of our regards, 
" Very faithfully yours, 

" Harper & Brothers." 

In a letter to Sir Bouverie Clark, Mahan says of 
From Sail to Steam : 

" You will find in it little new. My aim was to be 
readable for the general public, and to a certain extent 
to contravene erroneous ideas about naval matters, 
which are more dangerous in our country than in yours ; 
except when we have a man like Roosevelt, who really 
has sound military ideas. I have written purposely 
for the public, not for the profession ; to amuse, and if 
possible make the book sell. I did not, and do not, 
fancy greatly writing about myself and hope I have 
minimised the ego. You will probably find in it simply 
a phase, in another service, of the experience and 
anecdotes you have known in your own." 

Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812, issued 



1906] PRAISE FROM ADMIRAL GOODRICH 125 

in 1905, he personally considered his most thorough 
work from the point of view of history, and Admiral 
Caspar F. Goodrich wrote him this letter about it : 

" My dear Mahan, 

" I have read your last work, a history of the 
War of 1812, with an interest and a delight which make 
me your debtor for an intellectual enjoyment quite 
rare in my experience. In my judgment it is the best 
of all your writings, if one may be allowed to draw 
comparison. This is not surprising, for, after all, 
practice does make perfect. I should be the proudest 
of men if I had reached so high a plane of scholarship 
and analysis and could present the sequence of facts 
in so forceful and yet absorbing a way. As I cannot 
be proud of myself in this connection, I am immensely 
proud of you. 

" Mrs. Goodrich, who is here, joins me in love to 
yourself and Mrs. Mahan, and I am always, 
" Your sincere friend and admirer, 

" C. F. Goodrich." 

A remarkable feature of the production of this book, 
and one which may carry a message of reassurance to 
present-day writers, was the period of nine years which 
clasped between its conception and completion, and the 
fact that to a certain extent the subject had in the 
meantime lost its attractiveness. Mahan says of it : 

" Thus my orders to the Chicago led to dropping 1812, 
and to this my Life of Nelson was directly due. I had 
foreseen that the war of 1812, as a whole, must be flat 
in interest as well as laborious in execution ; and, upon 
the provocation of other duty, I readily turned from it 
in distaste. Nine years elapsed before I took it up ; 
and then rather under the compulsion of completing 
my Sea Power series, as first designed, than from any 
inclination to the theme. It occupied three years — 
usefully, I hope — and was published in 1905. Regarded 
as history, it is by far the most thorough work I have 
done. I went largely to original documents in Washing- 
ton, Ottawa, and London, and I believe I have contri- 



126 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

buted to the particular period something new in both 
material and interpretation. But, whatever value the 
book may possess to one already drawn to the subject, 
it is impossible to infuse charm where from the facts of 
the case it does not exist. As a Chinese portrait-painter 
is said to have remonstrated with a discontented 
patron, ' How can pretty face make, when pretty face 
no have got ? ' '■ 

Not content with Government work and writing, 
Mahan devoted a considerable portion of his time to 
delivering lectures in Boston and elsewhere. In 1909 
he published The Harvest Within, which is entirely 
devoted to consideration of the religious life. Without 
impartial analysis of the contents of this book, no full 
conception of Mahan' s personality is possible. Just as 
his historical works and even his autobiography are 
entirely free from reference to his religious convictions, 
so The Harvest Within is detached from all incidents 
of his secular life, and deals solely with the spiritual 
side. 

At the request of his London publishers, Messrs. 
Sampson Low, Marston & Co., who were engaged upon 
a voluminous History of the Royal Navy, then being 
edited by Sir William Laird Clowes, Mahan had contri- 
buted in 1898 that portion entitled Major Operations, 
1762-1783, and in 1913 this was given to the public 
in book form, under the title Major Operations of the 
Navies in the War of American Independence, published 
by Messrs. Little, Brown & Co., of Boston, who enjoy 
the distinction of having published the majority of 
Mahan' s works in America and who undertook, on the 
strong recommendation of Professor Soley, to bring out 
The Influence of Sea Power upon History, which, in 
common with the experience of many another epoch- 
making book, did not, as a commercial venture, appeal 
to the publishers, and was actually refused by at least 
one well-known house. 



1910-13] FRENCH TRANSLATION 127 

The Interest of America in International Conditions 
(1910), and a number of important lectures collected 
under the title of Naval Strategy, complete the number 
of Mahan's works. In a letter to a friend he admits 
that the collating and perfecting of the Naval Strategy 
lectures wearied him. He has this to say of it : 

" I remember that in your letter you spoke hesita- 
tingly about reading my Naval Strategy. I sincerely 
trust you have not felt that friendship required it. I will 
confess to you that the composing of it was the most 
perfunctory job I have ever done in book writing. 
There were very compelling reasons for undertaking it, 
but it alone of all my much writing was felt to be a burden. 
It was conscientiously done, and I hope is not a bad 
piece of work, and I feel probably the last professional 
large work that I shall attempt. Enough commenda- 
tion has reached me to make me hope that, with whatever 
faults, my reputation will not suffer seriously from it." 

At any rate the French publishers thought well of it, 
and Little, Brown & Company, of Boston, wrote Mahan 
on February 6, 1914 : 

" We have just received a letter from Ensign de 
Rivoyre, in which he states that the Pajris publisher 
L. Fournier has decided to publish his translation of 
Naval Strategy on the terms quoted — $50. Ensign 
Rivoyre wishes us to forward his thanks to you for 
the permission accorded him." 

The lectures embodied in this volume formed part 
of the regular course of instruction at the Naval War 
College, and Mahan records that they were read either 
by himself or by another officer every year from 1887 
to 1911. They enforced the lesson that war is an 
art, not a science. They expounded the history of naval 
strategy, the principles of which are unchanging, no 
matter to what extent tactics may be modified by 
modern invention, and they encouraged exhaustive 



128 LATER PUBLICATIONS [chap, xiii 

study of the past, without which no officer, however 

gifted, could hope to become an able commander. 

Napoleon backs the opinion that war is a business of 

positions. A somewhat humorous illustration of this 

occurs to me as I write. An impoverished and hungry 

bookworm, possessed of more knowledge of old editions 

than of scruples about other people's property, seized 

the psychological moment, when the presiding genius 

in the front of a book-shop was otherwise engaged, 

to take from the front of the shop a second-hand 

volume, of which copies were somewhat rare, sell it 

to its owner in the back of the shop, and get safely 

away with the proceeds. A faultless display of strategy 

and tactics, worthy of a better cause. The plan of 

campaign was carefully pre-arranged. What it of 

necessity lacked in hitting power — being an attack by 

a weak force upon one double its strength — it more 

than compensated for by the elements of surprise and 

cunning. The situation was gauged to a nicety. The 

opportunity was seized with courage and with the utmost 

dispatch. The outer defences were caught off their 

guard, valuable material was placed under contribution, 

and advantage was taken to slip through and attack 

in detail at the critical moment when the enemy forces 

were divided. The result was a conspicuous success. 

The story is told that the naval authorities in Cape 
Town cabled to the British Admiralty to ascertain 
what books it would be best to buy for their new naval 
library. The reply came back, " Buy Mahan " ; and 
in response to a further inquiry stating that the authorities 
had already bought a number of Mahan' s books and 
asking what else to buy, they received a cable saying, 
" Buy more Mahan ! " 

During his thirty years of active literary work (with 
several intermissions at sea) Mahan produced twenty 
publications in book form, in respect of volume alone 
a monument to his remarkable industry from the forty- 



1913] PROFESSOR SLOANE'S TRIBUTE 129 

third to the seventy-second years of his Ufe. Of his 
contributions to the world's storehouse of knowledge, 
it was said by Professor William Milligan Sloane in a 
tribute to the Admiral, published in the Columbia 
University Quarterly of March 2, 1916 : 

" Unvarnished truth is the characteristic of Mahan's 
pages, the truth fairly stated and philosophically 
considered." 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH 

" In a few years Mahan gave to the world that epochal book The 
Influence of Sea Power upon History, which stirred the nations of 
Europe to such a realisation of the significance of naval history, and 
such a comprehension of the efficiency of naval power, that they 
entered upon a determined competition for acquiring naval power, 
which continues to this day." — Admiral Bbadley A. Fiskb, U.S. 
Navy, 

In war there is commonly one predominating factor, 
the existence of which, though possibly intangible and 
at the time unrecognised, yet controls the situation and 
ultimately forces a decision. This paramount influence 
has usually expressed itself in the military genius of 
one all-commanding mind. 

Mahan has vividly portrayed the dramatic control 
which sea power exerted in overcoming the world- 
dominating ambitions of the greatest intellect which 
in modern times has mastered the secrets of the strategy 
of war, planned campaigns and led armies in the field. 

Naval and military authorities recognize as the 
predominating influence in the great conflict of the 
twentieth century, the margin of strength enjoyed by the 
British fleet over that of Germany. For the existence 
of this margin of naval power at the critical stage, 
when war was forced upon humanity in 1914, Mahan was 
in no small measure responsible. 

Napoleon said of Jomini : " Here is a young chef de 
bataillon who teaches us things which my professors 
never told me and which few generals understand. 

130 



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1301 



1894] THE KAISER'S TELEGRAM 131 

How could Fouche allow such a book to be printed ! 
This is giving away to the enemy my whole system 
of war ! " 

In his Sea Power books Mahan gave away to the enemy 
England's whole system of peace. 

The first volumes of the series reached Germany in 
1890 and 1892. The lessons they taught gradually 
influenced the German authorities from the Emperor 
downwards to concentrate their efforts in the creation 
of a huge navy. It was shortly after this that the German 
Emperor sent Mr. Poultney Bigelow the celebrated 
telegram which is reproduced in this chapter, and made 
his dramatic pronouncements : " Our future lies upon 
the water," " the trident must be in our fist." 

Here is Mr. Poultney Bigelow' s letter to Mahan : 

"10, Chelsea Embankment, 

" May 20, 1894. 

" My dear Captain, 

" The quotation on the other side may interest 
you. It is included in a private telegram to me from 
the Emperor, in which he asks me to be his guest at 
the Imperial manoeuvres this autumn. Shall I not 
see you again ? Could you not come and spend a few 
days quietly here as my guest ? You need not be 
rushed ! 

" I am faithfully, 

" Poultney Bigelow." 

Extract from dispatch to Poultney Bigelow : 

" I am just now, not reading but devouring Captain 
Mahan' s book ; and am trying to learn it by heart. 
It is a first-class work and classical in all points. It 
is on board all my ships and constantly quoted by my 
Captains and officers. 

" William, I. and R. 

" May 26, '94." 

In order to educate the people to the necessity for 
a powerful navy, the German Government ordered 
10 



132 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

Mahan's books to be translated into German and 
widely distributed throughout the Empire. Copies 
were supplied to all public libraries, schools, and Govern- 
ment institutions, and a complete set was placed on 
every German warship. 

In Sea Power and Freedom Gerard Fiennes thus 
describes the effect of Mahan's teachings on the 
Emperor's mind : 

" But in another direction, and that for the moment 
the most important of all, his influence was direct. 
Among the warmest admirers of his writings was the 
German Emperor, who found his vague aspirations 
crystallised on his pages. The opportunity to expand 
his realm on the continent was exhausted. Reflecting 
on all this, the teaching of Mahan came to him as a 
gospel newly revealed. Here was the new vision of 
world power, ever present to the mind of the imperial 
dreamer." 

To the active promotion of this " trident " ambition 
the German naval expenditures afford eloquent testimony. 
These were : 

1885 to 1894 . . $170,000,000 (£34,000,000) 
1895 to 1904 . . $375,000,000 (£75,000,000) 
1905 to 1914 . . $920,000,000 (£184,000,000) 

The Naval Defence Act of 1900, championed by the 
Emperor himself, alone provided for the expenditure of 
$370,000,000. The sensational development of the 
German Navy, however, may be attributed in large 
measure to the energies of Admiral von Tirpitz. 

Admiral Bradley Fiske, one of the chief naval 
authorities of the United States, says in The Navy as 
a Fighting Machine : 

" The effect of the acceptance of Mahan's doctrine 
was felt at once. Realising that the influence of sea 
power was a fact, and comprehending Great Britain's 



1894] MAHAN AROUSES THE NATIONS 133 

secret, after Mahan had disclosed it, certain other great 
nations of the world, especially Germany, immediately 
started with confidence and vigor upon the increase 
of their own sea power, and pushed it to- a degree before 
unparalleled ; with a result that must have been 
amazing to the man who, more than any other, was 
responsible for it." 

Careful examination of the works of distinguished 
writers on the subject leads irresistibly to the conclusion 
that Mahan' s teachings were primarily responsible for 
the transformation which took place in the naval policy 
of Germany shortly after the publication of the Sea 
Power series. 

How did the creation of the German Navy affect 
Great Britain ? Here is Admiral Fiske's opinion : 

" The rapid success of the Germans and Japanese, 
however, in building up their navies, as instanced by 
the evident efficiency of the German fleet almost under 
the nose of England and the triumph of the Japanese 
fleet in Tsushima Strait, startled the British Navy out of 
her conservatism, and caused her to proceed at full 
speed toward the modernisation of her strategy. With 
the quick decision followed by quick action that 
characterises the seaman everywhere, the British 
instituted a series of reforms, and prosecuted their 
efforts with such wisdom and such vigor, that, in the 
brief space of ten years, the British Navy had been 
almost revolutionised." 

In a letter received by the author from Admiral Sims, 
and reproduced elsewhere, will be found this statement : 

" The value of his studies was very naturally first 
appreciated in Great Britain, the country of all others 
most dependent upon maritime commerce ; and all 
naval critics have testified to the influence of these 
studies in ensuring a renewal of a strong British naval 
policy." 

Sir George Sydenham Clarke, now Lord Sydenham, 



134 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

a recognised authority, expressed his views in these 
words : 

" In 1888 it was my privilege to be present at a lecture 
given to the officers studying at the Naval War College 
at Newport, R.I. The subject — the Gulf of Mexico 
and the Caribbean Sea in their strategic relations to 
the United States — was treated with consummate ability. 
A new light seemed to be thrown upon the whole question 
of naval warfare ; confused pages of naval history 
took form and order ; great principles stood forth clearly 
revealed. 

" The lecturer was Captain Mahan, who was then 
preparing to write the books which have brought him 
well merited and lasting fame. The three volumes 
dealing with The Influence of Sea Power on History 
have themselves influenced history. The first appeared 
at a time when several writers were endeavouring by 
appeals to the past to awaken the British people to the 
facts that their ancient kingdom of the sea was in danger 
of being lost, and that the loss implied national extinc- 
tion. The importance of the service thus opportunely 
rendered by the brilliant American writer can hardly 
be overrated. 

" His book was doubtless intended primarily as an 
address to his countrymen ; but the history of maritime 
war in the modern world is in the main the history 
of the Anglo-Saxon race, and to us in a special sense 
the Influence of Sea Power appealed. Speaking as an 
outsider. Captain Mahan wielded a force which could 
not have been exerted by any British writer, even if his 
equal had appeared among us, and others besides 
myself felt a sense of thankfulness that the stirring 
message had come from across the Atlantic." 

England can boast no more persistent advocate for a 
strong Navy than was Admiral Lord Beresford, who 
agitated unceasingly for over thirty years, and who wrote 
Mahan in 1890 a letter from which the following is an 
extract : 

" The book you have written has so interested and 
excited me I cannot resist writing to the author. If 



1894] SECRET OF THE SEA REVEALED 135 

I had the power I would order your books to be placed 
on the table of every house in Britain and her Colonies. 
" If anything can wake our politicians up it will be 
a perusal of your book. I have written and begged 
some of the most prominent among them to read it 
not for my sake, but for my country's sake." 

Sir John Laughton expressed the opinion that the 
Sea Power books would open the eyes of a number 
in England who were obstinately blind to many of the 
truths Mahan had so clearly demonstrated ; and Sir 
Francis Jeune, the distinguished Judge, wrote Mahan 
in 1894 : 

" It does seem a little late for us to realise what 
command of the sea really means, but it is nevertheless 
the fact that till you wrote we never did realise it." 

Professor Tyndall said shortly before he died : 

" If I get better I will write an article about this 
book. Every Englishman ought to read it, and to know 
how much we are indebted to this admirable American 
writer." 

Lord de Saumarez, great-grandnephew of the famous 
Admiral of Nelson's day, recounts in a letter to Mahan 
in 1897 that a distinguished Admiral had expressed to 
him the opinion that Englishmen had not to thank 
either Conservatives or Liberals for the greatly improved 
position of the Navy. They had to thank Captain 
Mahan and no one else. 

In an eulogy of Mahan shortlj^^ after his death, the 
United States Naval Institute, the literary voice of 
the Navy, recorded in its Proceedings : 

" The regeneration of Great Britain's Navy which 
began in the nineties and was carried on under the 
Naval Defence Act of 1889 may be traced directly to 
Mahan' s works. It has been said that the modern 



136 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

British Navy is Mahan's creation, an hyperbole which 
contains far more than a grain of truth." 

Admiral Higginson, who commanded the Massachusetts 
during the Spanish-American War, expressed in this 
letter the feelings of that section of the Navy which 
recognised Mahan's genius early in the day : 

" Richfield Springs, N.Y., 

''July 6, 1894. 

" My deau Mahan, 

" Allow me to add my mite to the chorus of 
praise which now greets you from the greatest men 
of a great nation. I will not say I ' told you so,' because 
even in my imagination I did not anticipate either the 
extent of appreciation or the wild enthusiasm with 
which England has received your works. But at the 
time of which I speak you were wearied with repetition 
and while you knew what you had written was good, 
and contained your best thought, you doubted that it 
would be appreciated and that the sale of your book 
would be confined to libraries and a few professional 
men. 

" And now behold not only England but France and 
Germany at your feet and ' devouring ' your words. 
Surely this ought to make you rejoice as it does your 
friends, and let me tell you {entre nous) that while 
professional thorns may annoy they cannot injure you, 
and I would not worry over them in the least. 

" There is one thing, however, to be said about 
your works, and that is that they are two-edged, and 
while they show England what she ought to do they 
also show France what she ought not to do, and that may 
make the future contest more interesting. With your 
University honors you have raised the intellectual 
standard of our Navy and the service is deeply in your 
debt. It will probably never pay you, but the indebted- 
ness will nevertheless remain for ever. 
" Very truly yours, 

" Francis J. Higginson. 

" To Capt. Alfred T. Mahan, 

" Commanding U.S.S. Chicago.'* 



1894] "A PROPHET IN HIS OWN COUNTRY" 137 

The justification for the somewhat sombre prognosti- 
cation in the concluding words of this letter, and the 
impressionthatMahan's services to his country were but 
lightly appreciated by the people of his own land,^ 
is reflected in the contents of the following communica- 
tion received by Mrs. Mahan from the Navy Department 
shortly after the Admiral's death : 

" Navy Yard, New York, 

" Paymaster's Office, 

" December 19, 1914. 

" My dear Mrs. Mahan, 

" I am in receipt of a letter from Admiral Good- 
rich, and as I do not know your address am sending 
this to him. 

" Replying to some of the Admiral's questions I would 
advise you to communicate with the Navy Mutual Aid 
Association, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., and 
they will give you the necessary blanks with instructions 
for securing a pension. I would say that if the Admiral 
died from a cause that was incurred while he was on 
active duty, you will probably get a pension, whereas 
if the Admiral's death arose from some other cause not 
incident to the Service, you would have difficulty in 
obtaining a pension. 

" If you will send back to me the check for $373.60 
I will remove the stamp, and you, as executrix, can then 
sign the check which should be signed A. T. Mahan, 
U.S.N., by ' your name,' Executrix. The reason for 
the cheque being $373.60 was that the Admiral was in 
the hospital at Washington four days in November, so 
we had to deduct $1.20 for that reason. 

" We have remitted the Admiral's account to the 
Auditor for the Navy Department, and you should make 

1 " Admiral Mahan said in his book — and he was an American of 
whose knowledge and wisdom Congress seems to have known nothing 
and cared less — ' Why do English innate political conceptions of 
popular representative government, of the balance of law and liberty, 
prevail in North America from the Arctic Circle to the GuK of Mexico, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific ? Because the command of the sea 
at the decisive era belonged to Great Britain.' " — Owen Wister, A 
Straight Deal or The Ancient Orudge. 



138 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

claim on him for the balance that was due the Admiral 
on the date of his death, that is $10.81. 

" In concluding I wish to express my very deep 
sympathy with you in your bereavement, and if there 
is anything further that I can do in the way of assistance, 
please be free to call on me. 

" Very sincerely, 

" H. H. Balthis, 
" Paymaster, U.S. Navy, Paymaster of the Yard. 
" Mrs. A. T. Mahan, 

" c/o Rear-Admiral C. F. Goodrich, U.S.N., 
" No. 1,700 Pine Street, 
Philadelphia, Pa." 



The influence of Mahan' s writings was also felt in 
those allied countries whose navies have contributed 
their glorious share in making possible the concentration 
of the main strength of the British Battle Fleet in the 
North Sea, which was the outstanding strategic feature 
of the late war. France in the Mediterranean, Italy 
in the Adriatic, Japan in the Pacific, Russia in the Baltic, 
all powerfully helped to keep the seas free of the German 
menace. 

The unchanging fundamental principle of naval 
strategy in warfare is " concentration " — concentration 
of maximum efficients of gunfire, speed, and armour 
on the one spot which commands the movements of the 
most powerful units of the opposing fleet. There is 
little doubt that Mahan' s insistent and outspoken 
advocacy of the principle of naval concentration and 
his unswerving opposition to any division of the units 
of the United States Battle Fleet influenced in no small 
degree the consummation of the arrangement between 
France and England which allowed of the withdrawal 
of the major portion of the British naval forces from 
the Mediterranean and their concentration in the 
North Sea. 



1894-1911] WORLD-WIDE INFLUENCE 139 

It is almost impossible to realise at this day the extent 
of the influence of Mahan's writings on the minds of the 
men in whose hands lay the control of the destinies of 
nations a quarter of a century ago. More than one 
serious publication declared that statesmen slept with 
Mahan's books under their pillows. In the House of 
Commons a quotation from his writings was sufficient 
to close a discussion on a point of naval strategy. The 
most distinguished and experienced Admirals and 
administrators of the day sought his advice. In a letter 
quoted elsewhere, Colonel Roosevelt, then Assistant 
Secretary of the Navy and in close touch with many 
of the brightest minds in the country, in acknowledging 
receipt of some information from Mahan, says : 

" There is no question that you stand head and shoulders 
above the rest of us." 

Another distinguished writer said : 

" Other nations have embraced with ardour Captain 
Mahan's conceptions, and the embrace has borne sub- 
stantial fruit. In France, his classic work has had 
countless readers. Germany has swallowed it with 
equal alacrity. Japan has honoured it by an Edition 
DE Luxe, and is introducing it into her schools. Even 
the frozen North has loosened her loins at the tap of 
Captain Mahan's wand, and it is not impossible to argue 
that Russia's appearance upon the ice-free waters of 
the Pacific is connected with his popular teaching upon 
sea power and its advantages. AH these countries 
have spent vastly greater sums upon their navies 
since the appearance of these books, and some of 
them show every indication of a settled change in 
national policy." 



Just before Mahan published The Influence of Sea 
Power upon History, the Powers were spending 
$190,000,000 (£38,000,000) on their navies in the course 
of twelve months. In the year before war broke out 



140 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

they spent $835,000,000 (£167,000,000). Here are the 
figures : 



1888-9 



1913-14 



Britain 


65,000,000 


13,000,000 


230,000,000 


46,000,000 


United States 


20,000,000 


4,000,000 


145,000,000 


29,000,000 


Russia 


20,000,000 


4,000,000 


120,000,000 


24,000,000 


Germany . 


10,000,000 


2,000,000 


115,000,000 


23,000,000 


France 


40,000,000 


8,000,000 


95,000,000 


19,000,000 


Italy 


25,000,000 


5,000,000 


50,000,000 


10,000,000 


Japan 


5,000,000 


1,000,000 


50,000,000 


10,000,000 


Austria 


5,000,000 


1,000,000 


30,000,000 


6,000,000 




190,000,000 


38,000,000 


835,000,000 


167,000,000 



No one would be so immoderate as to claim that 
Mahan was responsible for all this, but, to use a homely 
alliteration, the figures furnish food for reflection. 

Mahan' s writings abound in warnings to the British 
people to preserve the all-essential margin of naval 
strength for the safety of the Empire. The citation of 
evidences of the effect of his teachings might be multi- 
plied indefinitely. His warnings are open to all the 
world to read. A couple of illustrations are here 
selected from the mass. In Naval Strategy, published 
in 1911, Mahan said : 

" The power to control Germany does not exist in 
Europe, except in the British Navy ; and if social and 
political conditions in Great Britain develop as they 
now promise, the British Navy will probably decline 
in relative strength, so that it will not venture to with- 
stand the German on any broad lines of policy, but only 
in the narrowest sense of immediate British interests." 



A prophetic warning both for Britain and America 
is contained in these awe-inspiring words in The Interest 
of America in International Conditions (1910) : 

" A German Navy supreme by the fall of Great 
Britain, with a supreme German Army able to spare 



1894-1911] MAHAN WARNS BRITAIN 141 

readily a large expeditionary force for over-sea opera- 
tions, is one of the possibilities of the future." 

Mahan's warnings touched British pride to the quick, 
and his philosophy of sea power put the subject of naval 
supremacy in a new light. Of this the powerful advo- 
cates of a Navy of predominating strength were quick 
to take advantage, and their efforts, slowly at first, but 
eventually with increasing momentum, resulted at last 
in that superb instrument of defence, each unit of which 
on August 4, 1914, on the cryptic signal consisting of 
the single word " Go," dashed off at full speed, and 
with hitherto undreamt-of dispatch took up its ap- 
pointed place in that wondrous, restless, irresistible 
bulwark of safety which was to keep free from molesta- 
tion the sunny coasts of Britain's gallant friend and ally. 

In Democracy's darkest hour in August 1914 the 
superiority of Britain's naval strength kept the German 
fleet and the German transports off the seas, and thereby 
protected the northern and western coasts of France 
from invasion. 

This enabled France to concentrate her forces just 
where they were most urgently required, on her north- 
eastern frontier. 

The thoroughness with which the British Navy swept 
the seas clear of the enemy enabled England to fling 
together her first armies, and rush them safely over to 
France.* 

These factors contributed to make possible the battle 
of the Marne. 

The battle of the Marne saved France. 

But for such irresistible, effective, and compelling 

1 Britain sent some 300,000 of the finest and best equipped troops 
in the world to help the French during those first three critical months 
of the war. Among innumerable other achievements, 3,000 of them 
on November 11, 1914, at Ypres, annihilated, within view, it is said, 
of the Emperor, 15,000 of the Prussian Guard, the flower of the 
German Army. 



142 THE MARGIN OF NAVAL STRENGTH [chap, xiv 

restraints as were imposed by the British naval forces, 
the enemy would doubtless have succeeded in carrying 
out his programme of ferocious destruction and plunder 
in France. 

In this particular war-game the taking of the first 
trick — of which two cards were Paris and the Channel 
Ports — was the crucial and decisive operation of the 
entire forty years' prepared campaign. With these 
strategically precious and dominating possessions in such 
an enemy's grasp, before either England or America 
was ready to strike, the fate of Democracy — for genera- 
tions at least — was sealed. But the British Navy, thank 
God, held the highest trumps. 

Once more in Mahan's famous words, " Those far- 
distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army 
never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the 
world." 

Nor must the corollary of the battle of the Marne 
be overlooked in according to Mahan his full share in the 
glorious outcome of Democracy's mighty conflict. 

The margin of strength of Britain's fleet made it 
possible for the French and " the contemptible little 
Army " ^ of Britain to save France at the Marne. But 
it did infinitely more than that. The far-reaching 
results of the battle of the Marne gave France and 
England time — then of supreme importance — to build 
up the matchless armies which have since covered them- 
selves with glory on the western battlefields of fairest 
France. Moreover, by keeping the ocean routes open, 
the naval forces of Britain gave the United States, France, 
and Britain time to develop their resources, pull them- 
selves together — in more senses than one — and thus 
qualify themselves for the great and final operations of 
the war. The British Navy taught the central military 

1 Eighty thousand men of the flower of the British Army for four 
days prevented some 300,000 German troops from rolUng up the 
left wing of the AUied Armies. 



1894-1911] THE PRICELESS MESSAGE 143 

Powers that the seas could be held long enough to enable 
Anglo-Saxondom to create armies larger and more 
powerful than their own, but it was the American 
Admiral, Alfred Thayer Mahan, who taught twentieth- 
century Britain the priceless lesson of the paramount 
necessity of an adequate margin of naval strength. 



CHAPTER XV 

" FREEDOM OF THE SEAS " 

" The reason why naval officers urge with heart and soul the reten- 
tion of the old right of capture is because they know not how to make 
war without it, nor can any man tell them." — Julian Stafford 

COBBETT. 

Despite the fact that Germany has unconscionably 
violated the compact, the nations have agreed — subject 
to certain well-defined qualifications as to requisitions 
for military requirements by an officer in command of 
a district — to respect private property in occupied terri- 
tory in time of war. The Hague War Regulations provide 
that neither requisitions in kind nor services can be 
demanded from communes or inhabitants except for 
the necessities of the army of occupation. On the high- 
seas, however, private property, by which is understood 
the merchandise which represents seaborne commerce 
in transit, whether carried in enemy or neutral ships, 
has been considered subject to capture if belonging to or 
destined for the enemy, provided a blockade of the 
enemy's ports is maintained ; because, although the 
goods themselves are for the most part the property of 
individuals, the safe carriage and the ultimate disposal 
of them benefit the enemy nation. Consequently a 
nation with a large overseas commerce and an extensive 
merchant marine, but possessing a Navy weaker than 
that of its chief rival, naturally desires its merchandise 
and merchant ships, and the merchandise and ships of 
friendly and co-operative neutrals, to be immune from 
capture at sea in time of war. This would practically 

144 



1904] MAHAN WARNS THE PRESIDENT 145 

do away with commercial blockades, except in so far as 
articles contraband of war are concerned, and is the 
interpretation which Germany, in support of her 
nefarious schemes for world domination, has sought to 
impose upon the catch-phrase, Freedom of the Seas.^ 

Between the first and second Hague Conferences 
Mahan was responsible for bringing about a change in 
the attitude of many minds as to the wisdom of the policy 
of advocating the immunity from capture of so-called 
private property at sea in time of war. He thereby did 
posterity a priceless service. For generations the 
United States had consistently favoured such a policy 
on the grounds of humanity. Some of the most eminent 
jurists of the day in both hemispheres, including such men 
as Lord Loreburn, Lord Chancellor of England, and the 
Hon. Joseph Choate, were in sympathy with the policy 
of immunity. 

As a naval strategist, sensing the disastrous effects 
of such a policy, Mahan was diametrically opposed to 
it, and about eighteen months before the day approached 
for the United States delegates to the second Hague 
Conference to receive their instructions, he wrote the 
following letter to President Roosevelt, exposing from 
a military point of view the national danger of such a 
project : 

*' Dear Mr. President, 

" When at Oyster Bay I mentioned to you my 
wish to be free to write for publication concerning matters 
that might come before the approaching Hague Confer- 
ence, notably the question of exemption from maritime 
capture of private property, so-called. 

" A very proper and necessary regulation of the Navy 
forbids officers discussing publicly matters of policy on 
which the Government is embarked. The question arises, 

1 By the courtesy of Mr. Charles Stewart Davison, extracts from an 
article published by him in the American press is reproduced in the 
Appendix. 



146 "FREEDOM OF THE SEAS" [chap, xv 

however, is the Hague Conference a body where measures 
are to be advocated as national pohcies ? Or are they 
to be advanced for discussion, with a view to reaching 
improved conditions of the code common to all, which 
we call International Law ? 

"It is by no means necessary that any Government 
should formally announce either of the above as its own 
attitude ; but should the second construction be adopted 
by our own, there could be no impropriety in a public 
officer contributing a properly worded argument on 
either side. Taking the particular measure I mention, 
our Government, I understand, has advanced it ; but, 
in so doing, is it as a matter of national advantage so 
pronounced that opposition is improper, or is the matter 
one so far open to consideration that light may be wel- 
comed whencever coming ? 

" It must be obvious to you that the present pre- 
possession of the public mind in most countries is such 
that the question of war itself, and of questions inci- 
dental to war, are in danger of being misjudged and 
' rushed.' One side only is clamorous. A special 
element of danger in this direction is the present British 
Government, with its huge heterogeneous majority to 
keep placated. With a Conservative Government there 
we might afford to be persistent in our old national 
policy, feeling safe that it would not be accepted, but 
would go over to another conference ; with the present 
you will on military questions be playing with fire. 
But especially to be considered is the popular attitude 
in Germany toward the English-speaking communities, 
and the effect of the exemption of private property upon 
her ambitions at their expense. Maritime transportation, 
and commercial movement which is what so-called 
' private property ' really amounts to, is now one of 
her great interests, and is steadily growing. Great 
Britain, and the British Navy, lie right across Germany's 
carrying trade with the whole world. Exempt it, and 
you remove the strongest hook in the jaw of Germany 
that the English-speaking people have — a principal 
gage for peace. 

" British interests are not American interests ; no. 
But taking the constitution of the British Empire, and 



1904] MAHAN APPEALS TO ROOSEVELT 147 

the trade interests of the British Islands, the United 
States has certainty of a very high order that the 
British Empire will stand substantially on the same 
lines of world privileges as ourselves ; that its strength 
will be our strength, and the weakening it injury to us. 
Germany is inevitably ambitious of transmarine develop- 
ment. I don't grudge it her. As a proof, after the 
Spanish War I refused a suggestion to use my supposed 
influence against her acquisition of the Carolines, etc. ; 
but her ambitions threaten us as well as Great Britain, 
and I cannot but think that final action on the question 
of so-called private property at sea would be better 
deferred, and the question be thrown into the arena of 
discussion, that action when taken may be in full light. 
As yet the public has heard but one side. The instance 
I quoted before to you is in clear point. No doubt our 
Government a century ago would have signed away the 
right of commercial blockade, which so helped us in the 
Civil War. 

" When to Germany are added the unsolved questions 
of the Pacific, it may be said truly that the political 
future is without form and void. Darkness is upon the 
face of the deep. We will have to walk very warily in 
matters affecting future ability to employ national 
force. 

" With much respect, 

" Sincerely yours, 

" A. T. Mahan." 

The President's reply suggests a strong existing bias 
in high quarters towards immunity : 

" White House, Washington, 
" December 29, 1904. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" I am interested in your letter and the enclosure, 
and shall take them up with John Hay. You open a 
big subject for discussion. There is a strong tendency 
to protect private property and private life on sea and 
land. Of course, the earlier races killed or enslaved 
every private citizen of the hostile nation whom they 
could get at, and destroyed or took his property as a 
11 



148 "FREEDOM OF THE SEAS" [chap, xv 

matter of course. I shall have to think over the matter 
before I could answer you at all definitely on this 
proposition. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

The matter evidently received authoritative considera- 
tion, for about seventeen months later Mr. Elihu Root, 
then Secretary of State, addressed this important com- 
munication on the subject to the Secretary of the Navy : 

" Depabtment op State, Washington, 
" May 21, 1906. 

" The Honorable 

" The Secretary of the Navy. 

" Sir, 

" I beg to enclose copy of a communication 
received from Captain A. T. Mahan upon the subject of 
the immunity of private property at sea in time of war, 
for the purpose of calling your especial attention to a 
suggestion made by him that the present policy of the 
United States in regard to that question should be 
made the subject of consideration by the General Board 
of the Navy. 

" The policy of the United States has long been 
positive and outspoken in its advocacy of immunity. 
Conditions in this world are, however, continually chang- 
ing, and this subject may have an important relation to 
the newly revived subject of general disarmament or 
limitation of armament. It is quite certain that the 
creation of an extensive commercial marine on the 
part of any great commercial country amounts now, in 
effect, to giving hostages for peace, and that the liability 
of private property to seizure in time of war insures a 
strong and powerful class in every commercial country 
deeply interested in the preservation of peace. 

" There is undoubtedly a question whether decreasing 
the danger to commerce would not also greatly decrease 
the reasons for peace, and whether the establishment 
of immunity might not result in sacrificing human life 
in order to save merchandise. On the other hand, the 
necessity for protecting a merchant marine is undoubt- 



1906] ELIHU ROOT SUPPORTS MAHAN 149 

edly an important consideration, leading to the enor- 
mous increase of naval armament now in progress. 

" In my judgment, the whole subject should receive 
the most careful re-examination on the part of this 
Government before final instructions are given to our 
delegates to the second Hague Conference. As a 
foundation for such consideration, the views of the 
General Board of the Navy would be of great value, 
and I shall be very much obliged if you will be good 
enough to obtain them. 

" I have the honor to be, Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" Elihu Root. 

" Enclosure from Captain A. T. Mahan. 
" April 20, 1906." 

"First Endorsement. D. L. 

" Navy Department, 

" May 23, 1906. 

" State Department : Encloses copy of communica- 
tion from Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N., upon the 
subject of the immunity of private property at sea in 
time of war ; suggests that this matter be made the subject 
of consideration by the General Board of the Navy. 

" Respectfully referred to the General Board for con- 
sideration and an expression of views as within requested 
by the Secretary of State. 

" Truman H. Newberry, 

" Acting Secretary J^ 

"Second Endorsement 

" General Board, 

''June 20, 1906. 

" State Department : Encloses copy of communica- 
tion from Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N., upon the subject 
of the immunity of private property at sea in time of 
war; suggests that this matter be made the subject 
of consideration by the General Board of the Navy. 
— ( [L]— May 21, 1906.) 

" Respectfully returned to the Department, through 
the Bureau of Navigation, accompanied by a letter (G.B. 



150 "FREEDOM OF THE SEAS" [chap, xv 

No. 438) of this date, expressing the views of the General 
Board in compliance with the request of the Secretary of 
State. 

" By direction of the General Board, 
" Sumner E. W. Kittelle, 

" Lieut. -Commander U.S.N. , 
" Secretary General Board.'''' 

The question was thus submitted for the consideration 
of the General Board of the Navy, of which Admiral 
George Dewey was President. The Board's report is 
too lengthy to be reproduced here, but in it they stated : 

" The avowed policy of the United States has hereto- 
fore been in favor of immunity of private property from 
seizure at sea, but of late years this has been advocated 
from moral considerations, and the General Board fears 
that the military or practical considerations have not 
received the attention in framing the United States 
policy which they deserve. 

" The modern tendency has been to limit more and 
more the acknowledged rights of belligerents, and the 
present necessity is to restrain this tendency within 
reasonable bounds or wars may become so ineffective as 
to lead to long-continued struggles which would be 
directly contrary to the intentions of the humanitarians. 
Captain Mahan clearly points out, in his letter forwarded 
by the Secretary of State, how the fear of capture of sea- 
borne commerce may prevent wars." 

The following extracts from the Board's supplementary 
report to the Secretary of the Navy ^ contains the gist of 
their views and recommendations, in which it will be seen 
they unqualifiedly endorse Mahan in every particular : 

" The relations of the United States with England have 
never been better than at the present time, and the 
relations between England and Germany are never good, 
so that in the event of war with Germany, it is not at all 

* Reproduced by the courtesy of the Secretary of the Navy. 



1906] THE GENERAL BOARD OF THE NAVY 151 

unlikely that the United States will be able to secure 
the passive friendship of England, and probably, if 
necessary, a treaty of mutual support .and protection 
such as existed between Japan aiid England during the 
recent Japanese-Russian War. 

'* Germany will fear our interference with her mer- 
chant marine to some extent in case of a war with the 
United States single-handed, and of course if private 
property at sea is immune in time of war she need not 
fear it at all. But if the United States should secure 
Great Britain as an ally, Germany's shipping would be 
tied up no matter who Germany might secure as an ally, 
on account of the strategical position of England as 
regards German commerce, and on account of the large 
Navy of Great Britain. 

" Should private property at sea be immune in time 
of war, this great advantage would be lost to Great 
Britain, as well as to the United States, and the im- 
mense assistance we might expect to receive from 
Great Britain would be tremendously decreased. 

" Germany is desirous of extending her colonial 
possessions. Especially is it thought that she is desirous 
of obtaining a foothold in the Western Hemisphere, and 
many things indicate that she has her eyes on localities 
in the West Indies, on the shores of the Caribbean, and 
in parts of South America. It is believed in many 
quarters that she is planning to test the Monroe Doctrine 
by the annexation or by the establishment of a protec- 
torate over a portion of South America, even going to 
the extent of war with the United States when her fleet 
is ready. 

"It is asserted on good authority that Great Britain 
does not wish to acquire any additional colonial posses- 
sions. Should it be true that Germany wishes to extend 
her colonial possessions to the Western Hemisphere, our 
interests are here bound up with those of England, and 
we can reasonably expect passive, if not active, assist- 
ance from Great Britain should it become necessary for 
the United States to prevent German acquisition of 
territory in this hemisphere. 

" The welfare of the United States and its immunity 
from entanglements with the other Powers is greatly 



152 " FREEDOM OF THE SEAS " [chap, xv 

strengthened by strong ties of friendship and by 
unanimity of action with Great Britain. The two great 
Enghsh-speaking nations seem destined to exert a great 
influence on the conduct of war when war is inevitable. 
Nothing should be agreed to that will lessen that in- 
fluence or, where our interests are in common, to take 
away so potent and influential a factor to prevent or 
shorten a war, as the liability to seizure of enemy's 
private property at sea in time of war." 

Those Americans and Englishmen who in the old days 
advocated immunity, did so from the highest motive, 
namely that of humanity. Mahan and his brother- 
strategists were called upon to expose the delusive 
character of the arguments in favour of exempting such 
property from the chance of capture at sea. They 
further demonstrated the positive danger to the best 
interests of the United States which such immunity 
would entail. 

An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the merits of 
the claims for immunity by the fact that in pressing the 
rights of the individual and enlarging upon the personal 
loss to which he was continually exposed by the possible 
capture of his merchandise, the existence of the safe- 
guard of marine insurance by corporate or govern- 
mental instrumentality was apparently ignored. 
Another factor which was also seemingly overlooked 
was the influence for peace which is exerted by those 
numerous members of a community who stand to lose 
money by the seizure of their property, whether directly 
as merchants or indirectly as insurers, should war be 
declared.* The practical effect of making private 

^ " Maritime capture, on the other hand, in the words of Mr. Dana, 
' takes no lives, sheds no blood, imperils no households, and deals 
only with the persons and property volvmtarily embarked in the 
chances of war for the purposes of gain, and with the protection of 
insurance,' which by modern trading custom is invariably employed 
to protect the owner of property against maritime war risks, and 
which effects an immediate distribution of loss over a wide area. 



1907] SIR JULIAN CORBETT 153 

property immune from seizure at sea would be the 
immediate extension of the contraband list to include 
every commodity of direct or indirect value to the 
enemy. This would be essential to the success of the 
operations of the Power or Powers desirous of establish- 
ing a blockade, which is a recognised and legitimate 
strategy of war. The immunity of innocent neutral 
ships and goods has been closely determined. Paper 
blockades are illegal and the rules regulating blockade 
have been strictly drawn. Mahan with unanswerable 
logic demonstrated that it was in accordance with the 
military policy of the United States to advocate an 
increase in the list of contraband goods, thus limiting 
further the rights of neutrals, and to resist any attempt 
to further limit the rights of blockaders. 

In the collection of articles published in 1907 under 
the title of Some Neglected Aspects of War, Mahan has 
expressed his views on this subject in the chapter on 
Belligerent Merchant Shipping, and has also em- 
bodied in the book an article by the distinguished 
authority Sir Julian Corbett ^ on The Capture of 
Private Property at Sea. Both articles are highly 
interesting, and shed luminous rays of cold facts on this 

Mild, however, as its operation upon the individual is, maritime 
capture is often an instrument of war of a much more efficient kind 
than requisitioning has ever shown itself to be. In deranging the 
common course of trade, in stopping raw material on its way to be 
manufactured, in arresting the importation of food and exportation 
of the produce of the country, it presses upon everybody sooner or 
later and more or less ; and in rendering sailors prisoners of war 
it saps the offensive maritime strength of the weaker belligerent. In 
face of the results that maritime capture has often produced it is idle 
to pretend that it is not among the most formidable of belligerent 
weapons, and in face of obvious facts it is equally idle to deny that 
there is no weapon the use of which causes so little individual misery." 
— Hall's International Law. 

1 Lecturer in History to the Naval War College, and Director of 
Historical Section, Committee of Imperial Defence. Shares with 
Mahan the distinction of having been awarded the Chesney Gold 
Medal. 



154 " FREEDOM OF THE SEAS " [chap, xv 

much misunderstood topic. Professor Corbett closes his 
enlightening disquisition with the words at the head of 
this chapter : " The reason why naval oncers urge with 
heart and soul the retention of the old right of capture is 
because they know not how to make war without it, nor can 
any man tell them."^ 

The present-day importance of the subject is enhanced 
by the determination of the Allies to remove for ever 
from the seas the menace of unrestricted submarine 
piracy as practised by Germany in the late war. This 
doubtless is what is implied by the second of President 
Wilson's points essential to Peace : " Absolute freedom 
of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, 
alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be 
closed in whole or in part by international action for the 
enforcement of international covenants." 

The author of the following breezy exposition of Sea 
Power in the Brooklyn Eagle of November 13, 1918, 
strikingly interprets Mahan's service to mankind : 

" The phrase ' freedom of the seas ' need give us no 
concern. Our Admiral Mahan explained our notion of 
the phrase in fifteen volumes. If he is not right, we are 
a long time coming to the point where we dispute him. 
Mahan was a voice crying in the wilderness when he 
exposed the German menace in 1910. Allan Westcott's 
recently published Mahan on Naval Warfare contains 
that prophetic exposure — from pages 38 to 46 — in 
Mahan's The Interest of America in International 
Conditions. 

" The earth is three-fourths sea. Mahan covered a 
subject second only to the stars. And when he died in 
1914 he had only just started. Men of the sea have 
never tolerated pirates. They tend to honesty as the 
compass needle holds to the pole. They will grant no 
freedom to do wrong. We have been forced by the 
Germans to put billions into ships, and that fact has a 
further bearing on freedom of the seas. Mahan wrote : 
' A broad basis of mercantile maritime interests and 



THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND 155 

shipping will doubtless conduce to naval efficiency by 
supplying a reserve of material and personnel.' 

" Precisely what the psychology of Germany did not 
anticipate comes about. Germany has given us more 
seamen than we ever dreamed of having, and the more 
seamen there are, the more honor ; the stricter the 
observance of law on the sea. The U-boat has crowded 
the sea with sailors. For one student of Mahan we now 
have a thousand. The Kaiser who told Mahan that he 
had ' devoured ' his book The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History took a meal his mind could not assimilate. 
And neither did we understand Mahan. We found his 
books dry and technical, and what happened at Tra- 
falgar did not seem to us of any immediate interest. 
As late as 1916 we were saying that we were not con- 
cerned with the causes of this war, and a little later came 
another Trafalgar at Jutland. The British victory at 
Jutland saved the world. Our loss of Mahan, in 
December 1914, is comparable to the loss of Kitchener 
to our joint cause. 

" Yesterday, in all the Episcopal churches the world 
over, sailors were held in special memory and special 
prayers were said for them. In the sermons the debt of 
mankind to sailors was acknowledged, and it is safe to 
say that in every sermon mention was made of the 
heroes who fought and died for us off Jutland on that 
memorable May 31, 1916. None of the low visibility 
clouded the conscience of the fighters, none palsied their 
good, strong arms. 

" The women of Portsmouth wept and the whole world 
rejoiced. The strategy and technic of Trafalgar are a 
part of our most blessed heritage, for only by knowing 
how to fight and esteeming the worth of the fighting 
sailor can we understand, as all the people who travel 
the sea for a living understand, that sea power is vital 
to a progressive nation." 

The effective blockade of the German ports by the 
British Fleet, the success of which Mahan did so much to 
ensure, saved the world, and thereby he did his country- 
men an invaluable service, because but for that success- 



156 " FREEDOM OF THE SEAS " [chap, xv 

ful blockade of the North Sea, Germany could have 
landed military forces in America and caused inconceiv- 
able devastation and misery ; moreover, America could 
not have safely sent a soldier, a bale of merchandise, or 
a letter to Europe, nor could she have made her ten 
thousand million dollars war profits, nor have had the 
use of the half-million tons of German shipping which 
the British cruisers bottled up in her ports. Without 
the British Navy, Democracy could not have won the 
war ; without the British Navy, Prussianism would have 
triumphed, and Liberty, as Anglo-Saxons comprehend it, 
would have perished from the face of the earth for 
generations to come. 

Possibly it may be permissible at this opportunity to 
interpose a word about those associated with the enemy 
by ties of blood, some of whom may read these lines. 
In the last analysis, whatever the German people as a 
nation are at heart ; whatever they have been in the 
past ; whatever they may become in the future ; those 
among them who are humane, generous, upright, and God- 
fearing — and there must be many such — must recognise 
the one all-comprehensive fact that the atrocious in- 
famies perpetrated by a large and representative section 
of their countrymen — infamies which have robbed the 
Turk of that sinister four-syllabled descriptive adjective 
with which his name has been for centuries associated- 
are responsible for the world's just condemnation and 
contempt. From this unhappily all Germans must 
suffer for generations to come, however innocent they 
themselves as individuals may have been, and the 
obvious task of all such good folk of Teutonic stock in 
the present and coming generations is to become so re- 
incarnated in thought, word, and deed as to divorce 
themselves and their descendants definitely and for all 
time from the minutest trace of that indelible stain which 
may be best described by the one word Prussianism. 

Admiral Sims, the distinguished Commander-in-Chief 



ADMIRAL SIMS 157 

of the American Naval Forces in European Waters, 
adds to that of the mihtary strategists his testimony 
as to the paramount influence of the British Navy. In 
his address to the visiting American journahsts he 
said : 

" I would like American papers to pay particular 
attention to the fact that there are about five thousand 
anti-submarine craft in the ocean to-day, cutting out 
mines, escorting troopships, and making it possible for 
us to go ahead and win this war. The reason they can 
do this is because up in the North Sea somewhere lying 
at anchor is the great British Grand Fleet. They can do 
this work because the British Grand Fleet is so powerful 
that the German High Seas Fleet has to stay at home. 
If a catastrophe should happen to the British Grand 
Fleet there is no power on earth that can save us, for 
then the German High Seas Fleet can come out and 
sweep the seas. The British Grand Fleet is the founda- 
tion stone of the cause of the whole of the Allies." 

In 1918, when the man in the street was seeking a 
reliable definition of the term " freedom of the sea," 
Admiral Sims said : "So far as history goes, the power 
of Great Britain has permitted practically absolute 
freedom of the seas to everybody, because any vessel 
could go to any British port and carry goods to any 
other port. To me, that looks like perfect freedom of 
the seas." 

Four years before war broke out, Admiral Mahan 
warned the British and American peoples of the danger 
of weakening the defensive power of the blockade. In a 
trenchant article on Britain and the World's Peace 
in the columns of the London Daily Mail he said : 

" There is little cause for wonder, then, that Germany 
is contracting debt in order to strengthen her Navy. 
The wonder is that intelligent men in Great Britain 
should be found to ignore these facts, and to advocate 
immunity from the incidence of war for sea-borne 



158 "FREEDOM OF THE SEAS" [chap, xv 

commerce, under the delusive definition of ' private 
property.'" {See Appendix.) 

Admiral Mahan divided honours with Lord Roberts 
in persistent and consistent advocacy of undeniably 
sound national measures which met with determined 
opposition from enlightened quarters. But whereas 
the failure to adopt Lord Roberts's proposals cost 
England countless lives and untold treasure, the failure 
of Mahan' s opponents to introduce their suicidal innova- 
tion before hostilities opened in 1914 did much to save 
the world. Blockade did more than bullets to win the 
war. 

In the light of the crowning justification of his conten- 
tions as exemplified in the actual experiences of the all- 
momentous contest between right and wrong now glori- 
ously ended in the vindication of the right, it is almost 
pathetic to recall Mr. Andrew White's difficulties at the 
Hague in reconciling Mahan' s views with those of the 
advocates of presenting the Central Empires with a 
trump card which would have furnished them with the 
means of evading the consequences of the blockade and 
possibly winning the war. The subject is of such 
momentous import that it may be considered permissible 
to here repeat the extract from Mr. White's autobio- 
graphy reproduced in the chapter on the First Hague 
Conference. 

" Then to the hotel and began work on the draft of a 
report, regarding the whole work of the conference, 
to the State Department. I was especially embarrassed 
by the fact that the wording of it must be suited to the 
scruples of my colleague Captain Mahan. He is a man 
of the highest character and of great ability, whom I 
respect and greatly like ; but, as an old naval officer, 
wedded to the views generally entertained by older 
members of the Naval and Military Service, he has had 
very little, if any, sympathy with the main purposes of 
the conference, and he has not hesitated to declare his 



HON. ANDREW WHITE 159 

disbelief in some of the measures which we were especi- 
ally instructed to press. In his books he is on record 
against the immunity of private property at sea, and in 
drawing up our memorial to the conference regarding 
this latter matter, in making my speech with reference 
to it in the conference, and in preparing our report to the 
State Department, I have been embarrassed by this 
fact. It was important to have unanimity, and it could 
not be had, so far as he was concerned, without toning 
down the whole thing, and, indeed, leaving out much that, 
in my judgment, the documents emanating from us on 
the subject ought to contain. So now, in regard to 
arbitration, as well as the other measures finally adopted, 
his feelings must be considered. Still, his views have 
been an excellent tonic ; they have effectively prevented 
any lapse into sentimentality. When he speaks, the 
millenium fades and this stern, severe, actual world 
appears." 

Yet another side of this engrossing controversy pre- 
sents itself in the consideration of the more than probable 
contingency that had the purposes of the blockade 
been frustrated by the adoption of the principle of im- 
munity of private property at sea, friendly neutrals,* 
including the United States, would have continued to 
provide with the wherewithal to prolong, and possibly 
win, the war, those whom the world has learnt by bitter 
experience to recognise as the enemies of mankind. 
The thought is too hideous to contemplate. Thank 
God the practical knowledge, foresight, and courage of 

^ Should future international law or the League of Nations fail to 
eliminate from the political horizon the so-called " neutral " of the 
past, measures will be necessary to obviate in future any such cruel 
injiiry as that from which the Allies suffered in the late conflict, by 
reason of the wholesale and gigantic abuse of neutral privileges on 
the part of those countries contiguous and semi-contiguous to Germany, 
through the instrumentality of other neutrals who in the first year 
of the war poured their foodstuffs and merchandise into these countries 
for the benefit of the enemy either directly or by means of subtle 
substitution, and would have continued to do so but for the effective 
commercial blockade maintained by the British Fleet. — C. C. T. 



160 " FREEDOM OF THE SEAS " [chap, xv 

Admiral Mahan were instrumental in helping materially 
to avert so appalling a calamity. 

In the last analysis Mahan and his teachings probably 
did more than any other one factor to right the greatest 
wrong in history and to start the joy-bells ringing in 
every Anglo-Saxon heart. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THEN AND NOW 

" A Navy, therefore, whose primary sphere of action is war, is, in 
the last analysis and from the least misleading point of view, a political 
factor of the utmost importance in international affairs, one more 
often deterrent than irritant, 

"It is in that light, according to the conditions of the age and of 
the nation, that it asks and deserves the appreciation of the State, 
and that it should be developed in proportion to the reasonable possi- 
bilities of the political future." — A. T. Mahan, The Future in Relation 
to American Naval Power, 1895. 

In these days of thousand milUon dollar naval appropria- 
tions it is hardly possible to conceive of the indifference 
with which the Navy was regarded by the American 
people up to about the time when Mahan first came into 
public notice as an author in 1883. This date coincides 
with the birth of what was then known as the New Navy, 
which occurred in President Arthur's administration 
under the vigorous policies of Secretary Hunt and Secre- 
tary Chandler. Mahan' s influence was not to be 
actively felt in the United States until some ten years 
after this. 

So great was the difficulty of getting Congress to vote 
for even one battleship of the second class in the early 
days, that the wits of the Navy used to illustrate the 
situation by the story of the old lady who, on being told 
that the honey she was enjoying was from her host's 
garden, said, " I think I'll get a bee for my garden too." 

The following letter to Mahan from Admiral Stockton 
reflects the views of intelligent naval men of the day : 

" Make Island, Cal., 

" My dear Captain, "-^"^^ ^^' i^^^- 

" I have just finished reading your book and 
cannot refrain from writing to you to congratulate you 

161 



162 THEN AND NOW [chap, xvi 

upon its value and success. As I had not the good 
fortune to hear your lectures it was not in any way a 
' twice-told tale ' to me, and I found it most interesting 
and valuable. I was at first disposed to doubt the 
advisability of pointing the moral by referring to our 
conditions, our uncertain and erroneous policies, and 
want of strength , but I finally concluded that, in and 
out of season, it is advisable and even a solemn pro- 
fessional and patriotic duty to call attention to the 
lamentable state of affairs and the ostrichlike conduct 
of those who legislate for us. 

" With kindest regards to Mrs. Mahan, I am, 
" Sincerely yours, 

" Charles H. Stockton." 



The Chicago, which Mahan commanded from 1893 to 
1895 and which was at that time considered the most 
powerful ship in the United States Navy, was finished in 
1887, and with two other unarmoured cruisers, the 
Atlanta and the Boston, constituted at that time the 
Navy's effective unit of modern warships. Then fol- 
lowed slowly the construction of a few additional ships, 
until in 1890, the year in which The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History appeared, came the dawn of a new era, and 
the first serious step was taken in the direction of building 
a Navy worthy of the United States. This was during 
President Harrison's administration and was in great 
measure due to the initiative of Secretary Tracy. Soon 
after this Mahan may be said to have begun to influence 
professional opinion. The far-reaching stimulus created 
by his unique reception in England, which made the 
name of Mahan a household word in all maritime coun- 
tries and greatly enhanced the prestige of the American 
Navy, was further intensified by the lessons learnt in the 
Spanish-American war and brought about a change in 
public sentiment towards the Navy. The naval victories 
at Manila and Santiago further contributed to influence 
legislators favourably in the direction of navy building. 



1903-16] THE NEW AMERICAN NAVY 163 

The result was that by 1903, some ten years after the 
earUest date at which the teachings of Mahan's first sea- 
power books began to take effect in America, the United 
States Navy boasted, in commission and under construc- 
tion, twenty-four first-class battleships and ten armoured 
cruisers. 

From this time on the growth of the Battle Fleet was 
steady and continuous, usually two first-class ships 
being added every year. Then came the Great 
War, and the supreme importance of sea power, as 
illustrated by the predominant control exercised by 
the British naval forces, resulted in 1916 in the 
authorisation by Congress of a naval programme 
absolutely without parallel in history. This was further 
supplemented by the provisions of another Act in 
March 1917. 

Political considerations do not yet allow of a detailed 
and comprehensive account of the present and imminent 
strength of the American Navy ; but when peace condi- 
tions are finally established and all restrictions are 
removed, the author anticipates the crowning pleasure 
of offering his readers a recital that will raise a tumult 
of emotion and patriotic pride in every American heart. 
It is, however, permissible to condense into a fairly 
palatable capsule this much of the information which is 
already available abroad. The 1916 Act appropriated 
three hundred million dollars to cover the expenditures 
of the first year of a three-years programme, which 
included, among a number of other craft, ten battle- 
cruisers and ten battleships. Four of the battleships 
were to be of 32,600 tons, with a speed of 21 knots and 
carrying eight 16-inch guns ; six battleships were to be 
of 40,000 tons with a speed of 25 knots and carrying 
twelve 16-inch guns ; and six battle-cruisers of 34,800 
tons with a speed of 35 knots and carrying ten 14-inch 
guns. The battleships were to cost some $20,000,000 
each, and the battle-cruisers were to be 850 feet in length, 
12 



164 THEN AND NOW [chap, xvi 

200,000 horse-power, and cost $21,000,000 each.^ The 
Act of March 4, 1917, authorised a further appropriation 
of five hundred milUon dollars.^ More than this cannot 
here be said about the American Navy, except that, as all 
the world knows, the United States now have in com- 
mission a squadron of ships of the Pennsylvania class, 
each equipped with a dozen 14-inch arguments for 
democracy, and Uncle Sam's resources for accumulating 
convincing logic of this character are practically inex- 
haustible. The accompanying illustration of the 
powerful ships of this class gives an idea of their stately 
and graceful lines suggesting those of the destroyer 
type.* 

The destructive power of the modern Dreadnought 
is such that no comparison is possible between the 
strength of the present United States Navy and that of 
Mahan's day, as represented by a few ships of the 
Chicago class. As regards comparative rank, the 
American Navy in those regrettable days had, inter- 
nationally speaking, no standing ; to-day she is fast 
approaching second place among the great navies of 
the world.* 

An illustration of the comparative sizes of individual 
representative ships of that period and of the present 
day is shown in the accompanying picture of the Chicago 

^ A 16-inch naval gun will accurately throw a projectile weighing 
a ton about fifteen miles. The ships of the Queen Elizabeth class of 
the British Navy are of 27,500 tons, 650 feet in length, carry eight 
15-inch giuis, and steam about twenty-five knots. The battle-cruisers 
of the Lion class are of 26,000 tons, 675 feet in length, carry eight 
13'6-inch gims, and steam about thirty knots. 

2 For war purposes the Naval Budget subsequently exceeded 
a thousand million dollars. 

' In Jane's Fighting Ships, 1919, it is stated that New Mexico, 
Idaho, and Mississippi are improvements upon Pennsylvania and 
Arizona, which, " taken all round, represent one of the most successful, 
if not the most successfiil, of aU Dreadnought designs up to the present 
time." 

* Written before the surrender of the German Fleet. American 
Navy now stands second. 



(I 

(I 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE 165 

and the Pennsylvania photographed together on the 
same sheet. 

Of all Mahan's innumerable exhortations to his 
countrymen demonstrating the vital necessity of a 
strong Navy, none perhaps had greater potency than 
that in which he defined in the following words that 
policy which is so dear to the heart of every American, 
and is known as the Monroe Doctrine : " Reduced to its 
barest statement^ and stripped of all deductions, natural or 
forced, the Monroe Doctrine, if it were not a mere political 
abstraction, formulated an idea to which in the last resort 
effect could be given only through the instrumentality of a 
Navy.'" 

Mahan's efforts for many years were exerted in the 
direction of awakening public opinion in America to the 
importance of a Navy in keeping with the national 
responsibilities of the United States. Some of his articles 
on the subject are contained in a volume published in 
1897 under the title of The Interest of America in Sea 
Power, Present and Future ; but his writings for thirty 
years contained innumerable lessons, presented as never 
before by human ingenuity, and vividly illustrating the 
imperative demand for a strong and active fleet in the 
national interest and for the security and welfare of the 
people of the United States. 

Although his success unfortunately gave rise to 
jealousy in some quarters, there is ample evidence that 
many naval officers of the most thoughtful and efficient 
type thoroughly appreciated his efforts to secure for his 
country a Navy and a Navy Department in every way 
worthy of the United States. This letter from Admiral 
Bowman Hendry McCalla is characteristic of a number 
of similar tributes to Mahan's invaluable services in this 
all-important direction : 

" Dear Captain Mahan, 

" Ever since your work upon The Influence of 
Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire 



166 THEN AND NOW [chap, xvi 

was published I have anticipated reading, with great 
pleasure and instruction, the work which I knew 
you intended to publish eventually, bringing the 
influence of Sea Power up to and including the War 
of 1812. 

" I am just now in the first volume of The Influence 
of Sea Power upon the War of 1812, and I feel it to be a 
privilege to have the opportunity to express to you the 
great satisfaction and pleasure with which I am becoming 
familiar with the actual conditions which prevailed in 
both countries prior to the declaration of our last war 
with England. I will not take any of your time beyond 
asking you to accept my congratulations upon the 
wonderful insight you have given to those who are 
interested in naval matters of the enormous influence 
which fleets have exerted upon the rise and fall of 
nations. 

" If our people, our legislators, and our officers show 
by their efforts in future their appreciation of your 
inspired works, they will so modify the organisation of 
the Navy Department, the administration of the Navy, 
and method of promotion as to make our Service equal 
to the most efficient among maritime nations. We 
may then feel, I think, that our Navy will have been 
responsible, through your teaching, in creating a real Fleet, 
which may be expected to be at least equal in efficiency 
to those of other nations. 

" May I ask you to do me the favor to convey to Mrs. 
Mahan our very great pleasure at the well-deserved and 
immortal reputation which her husband has gained for 
his family and our Navy ? 

" Very sincerely, 

" B. H. McCalla." 



In practice as in precept he was equally persistent, 
and it is interesting to trace the several links in the chain 
of official occurrences which eventually led to the adop- 
tion of a strong naval policy by the United States 
Government. 

When he was ordered to sea in 1893 he warmly recom- 



ORIGIN OF THE GENERAL BOARD 167 

mended as his successor in the Presidency of the Naval 
War College his colleague and friend, Captain H. C. 
Taylor. Mr. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy, approved 
of Mahan's choice and duly appointed Captain Taylor 
President of the College. 

In those days there was no General Board of the Navy, 
and its establishment was primarily due to Mahan's 
influence with Taylor, who induced the then Secretary 
of the Navy to approve of the plan and also persuaded 
Admiral Dewey to accept the first Presidency of the 
Board. The modern Navy of the United States owes its 
character largely to the expert knowledge of the 
members of the General Board, among whom at that 
time were Rear-Admirals George A. Converse, Charles 
S. Sperry, William Swift, Seaton Schroeder, William T. 
Swinburne, Richard Wainwright, and Captain Sumner 
Kittelle. 

At a hearing before the Committee on Naval Affairs 
of the House of Representatives in February 1916, 
Rear-Admiral Cameron McRae Winslow, then Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, gave the following 
evidence : 

" I can give you the history of the General Board, and 
I am inclined to think that I am the only officer in the 
Navy who can give to you what produced the General 
Board and its development. Many years ago, when 
Admiral Dewey came home from Manila, he came home 
with very high rank. It was a problem in the Navy 
Department just where Admiral Dewey would fit in. It 
was quite a serious problem. Admiral H. C. Taylor, 
who was probably one of the most far-seeing men that 
we had at the time in the Navy or that we have at the 
present time, was very closely associated with Admiral 
Mahan. They were deep thinkers, and they realised what 
must come if we were to have a Navy. Admiral Taylor 
was very close to the Secretary of the Navy at the time, 
and the Secretary of the Navy had great confidence in 
him. 



168 THEN AND NOW [chap, xvi 

" In talking this thing over, Admiral Taylor saw that 
there was an opportunity to make a start on a different 
organisation in the Navy Department, and he advocated 
the formation of a General Board with Admiral Dewey 
at the head of it, provided it would be satisfactory to 
Admiral Dewey, which it was. I think it would have 
been almost impossible to have formed the General 
Board at that time if the situation had not been such as 
it was, because the General Board was bitterly opposed, 
as it was after it was formed. It was bound to continue 
on with Admiral Dewey at the head, but the General 
Board was not then, nor has it been since, what Admiral 
Taylor hoped would be the final development. What he 
wanted was a General Staff, and that is what I have 
always thought was the best. My opinion, of course, 
is not of great consequence, but that was the opinion of 
Admiral Mahan and Admiral Taylor, and it was the 
opinion of everybody who has made a study of how to 
control a great military body, realising that you can 
get higher efficiency and better results by having it con- 
trolled by a General Staff, but we have not gone to that 
extent. The General Board, mind you, is not a General 
Staff, but it has become so important in the Navy 
Department that it would not be done away with, the 
Secretary would not like to do without it, and I doubt 
if any Member of Congress would like to do without the 
General Board." ^ 



Thus Mahan' s influence can be traced through his 
volumes of earnest admonition and throughout the 
various evolutions which eventually produced the 
present American Battle Fleet, and the following letter 
from Admiral Sims, one of America's foremost naval 
commanders, adds authoritative evidence of Mahan' s 
far-reaching inspiration in the creation of the national 
sentiment which has been so largely responsible for the 

1 In The Navy as a Fighting Machine Admiral Fiske says that Congress 
has so enlarged the scope of the office of Chief of Naval Operations as 
to make it a General Staff. 



ADMIRAL SIMS 169 

eminent position the United States is rapidly assuming 
in international naval affairs : 

" U.S. Naval Fokobs Operating in European Waters, 
" U.S.S. ' Melville,' Flagship, 

30, Gbosvenor Gardens, 

" London, S.W.I., 

" May 2, 1918. 

" My dear Sir, 

" I am very glad to learn from your letter of 
March 28, 1918, that you are writing a biography of the 
late Admiral Mahan. I think it specially fortunate that 
this is being done at this particular time by an official 
of the British Government, when the British and 
American Navies are so closely associated in this great 
war for Democracy, for in a very real sense the Admiral's 
life-work very intimately concerns not only Great 
Britain but the United States, and every seaman, every 
statesman, and every citizen of those countries whose 
national policies depend for their realisation upon the 
free and peaceful use of the sea. 

" During the past twenty years I have been in frequent 
association with many officers of the principal navies 
of the world, and with the statesmen of these nations, 
their leading naval advisers, and their national authori- 
ties in the various branches of naval warfare. Almost 
without exception, these men have referred to the great 
influence of Mahan' s works in making clear the vital 
importance of sea power in safeguarding the sovereignty 
and independence of nations. I know of no other 
similar influence upon governmental policy that is so 
universally acknowledged. 

" At the time when Admiral Mahan began his writings 
at the United States Naval War College, the art of naval 
warfare was in a state of development corresponding 
approximately to that of land warfare previous to the 
advent of Napoleon. After Waterloo there followed 
a long period of anal5i;ical study, which led to the modern 
conceptions of land warfare and of the function of 
armies in the life arid development of nations. 

" Strange to say, the true cause of Napoleon's down- 
fall — the comparatively inconspicuous pressure of sea 
power — was overlooked. It is even doubtful whether 



170 THEN AND NOW [chap, xvi 

the navy which exerted this pressure clearly compre- 
hended the vital significance of its influence until Mahan's 
analytical genius made it clear to all the world. He 
demonstrated also the similar influence of sea power 
upon the outcome of many of the great wars, including 
the American Civil War. 

" The value of his studies was, very naturally, first 
appreciated in Great Britain, the country of all others 
most dependent upon maritime commerce ; and all 
naval critics have testified to the influence of these 
studies in ensuring a renewal of a strong British naval 
policy. 

" Similarly the United States was also awakened and 
began building up its Navy, which had fallen to a low ebb. 
Fortunate indeed was this renewal of naval policy — this 
adequate strengthening of our sea forces— as illustrated 
perhaps more strikingly than ever before by the events 
of this great war. 

" We have seen the Navies of the Allies standing 
between German domination and the freedom of the 
world, and we realise how much Great Britain, the 
United States, and all of humanity owe to the wisdom of 
Mahan — the pioneer thinker in demonstrating the vital 
relation between sea power and national life. 

" His loss is keenly felt in the naval world, and by 
many illustrious men in all countries. Very often have 
I heard sincere regret expressed that he could not have 
lived to witness the most impressive illustration of the 
principles which he so convincingly demonstrated, and 
that we should have been deprived during these critical 
times of the benefit of his unrivalled knowledge of naval 
warfare and his great powers of analytical reasoning. 

" Very sincerely yours, 

"Wm. S. Sims. 
" To Carlisle Taylor, Esq., 
" British Vice Consul, 

" New York, U.S.A." 

Incidentally the fact that Admiral Sims was born 
under the British flag, and that his mother was British, 
her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sowden, the Admiral's grand- 
father and grandmother, being both English, may be 



ROOSEVELT'S TRIBUTE 171 

said to contribute a naval link to the chain of close 
Anglo-American relations which Mahan was so desirous 
to promote. 

No man understood and appreciated Mahan more 
thoroughly than Theodore Roosevelt, who has left this 
on record : 

" In dealing with our naval officers, in working for the 
Navy from within the Navy, Mahan was merely one 
among a number of first-class men ; and many of these 
first-class men were better than he was in the practical 
handling of the huge and complicated instruments of 
modern war. But in the vitally important task of con- 
vincing the masters of all of us— the people as a whole — 
of the importance of a true understanding of naval needs, 
Mahan stood alone. There was no one else in his class, 
or anywhere near it." 

It would be impossible to estimate how large a part 
Mahan played, directly and indirectly, in the creation 
of the great fleet which now upholds the honour and 
dignity of the American people. 



CHAPTER XVII 

PEACE VIEWS 

" The power to control Germany does not exist in Europe, except 
in the British Navy." — A, T. Mahan. 

"It is as fallacious and dangerous to rely wholly upon covu-age, 
devotion, and resources of the people, without practical preparation, 
as it is futile to depend upon isolated position or arbitration to for 
ever protect us from war." — Colonel James G. Haebord, United 
States Army. 

In the preface to the collection of articles published in 
book form in 1912, under the title of Armaments and 
Arbitration^ or the Place of Force in the International 
Relations of States, Mahan explains that : 

" The first six were planned as a series, intended to 
present the arguments, too frequently ignored, that 
neither Arbitration in a general sense, nor Arbitration 
in the more specific form of judicial decision based 
upon a code of law, can always take the place, either 
practically or beneficially, of the processes and results 
obtained by the free play of natural forces. Of these 
forces national efficiency is a chief element, and arma- 
ment, being the representation of the national strength, 
is the exponent." 

The chief significance of this statement lies in the 
word always ; Mahan' s view being that while most 
international differences can and should be adjudicated 
by arbitration, there are conditions of political security 
and principles of national honour, determined violation 
of which by another Government can be settled by force 
alone, or at best by the threat of the employment of 

172 



ARBITRATION 173 

adequate force. Unhappily recent historical events 
support this view, for it is now evident to all mankind 
that absolutely nothing but force could have prevented 
the plunder of the civilised world by the Central Powers. 

Mahan made it clear that in the arbitration treaties 
into which the United States has entered, the decision 
as to justiciable or non- justiciable issues rests with the 
Government of the day. The lesson he sought to teach 
was, briefly, that nations should be prepared for defence 
according to the reasonable requirements of their respec- 
tive territories. No nation should arm for offence. 
Neither disarmament nor lack of preparation necessarily 
prevents war ; otherwise the American Civil War would 
not have taken place. There are in history instances of 
wars that have resulted in just and beneficial conclusions 
which would not have been attained had the issues been 
submitted to arbitration on purely legal grounds, apart 
from considerations of national honour, and the civil 
and political liberties of the individual. As illustra- 
tions of these he mentions the Spanish-American War 
and the Boer War. He also quotes the Monroe Doctrine 
as a political contention having no support in inter- 
national law. Can anyone picture the United States 
submitting to arbitration a question involving the 
principles of the Monroe Doctrine ? 

In an article under the title Why not Disarm ? Mahan 
enlarges on this subject, and summarises his message to 
the people of the United States in these words : 

" Our Monroe Doctrine imposes a veto upon inter- 
position by non-American States. Arbitration cannot 
uphold the Doctrine because it has no legal status. 
Armament alone can sustain, and to be bloodless it must 
be efficient ' that the opposed may beware of thee.' " 

Here is a letter, one sentence of which suggests in a 
nutshell the underlying truth which, in the absence of an 
international court of arbitration sufficiently powerful 



174 PEACE VIEWS [chap, xvii 

to enforce its decrees, made the Spanish-American War 

inevitable : 

" Navy Department, Washington, 

" March 21, 1898. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" There is no question that you stand head and 
shoulders above the rest of us ! You have given us just 
the suggestions we want. I am going to show your 
letter to the Secretary first, and then get some members 
of the Board to go over it. 

" Personally, I can hardly see how we can avoid inter- 
vening in Cuba if we are to retain our self-respect as a 
nation. 

" You probably don't know how much your letter has 
really helped me clearly to formulate certain things which 
I had only vaguely in mind. I think I have studied your 
books to pretty good purpose. If I can get the Secre- 
tary to enunciate just the policy about promotions 
which you advocate, I am sure it will help us more 
than anything else. 

" Faithfully yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt. 

" P.S. — There are mines off Fort Monroe, and in the 
fort three modern 10-inch rifles, and a number of good 
mortars. These, with a couple of small harbor torpedo- 
boats, would I think be enough to prevent a raid on 
Hampton Roads by a hostile fleet. 

" Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N., 
" 160, West 86th Street, 
" New York." 

Our self-respect as a nation ! What judicial body can 
arbitrate on that ? But might not the cause of the offence 
in most cases be removed by combined international 
pressure ? ^ 

1 A futiire continfrency which the League of Nations must take 
into account is reflec < ed in the fact that in the international complica- 
tions arising out of the Spanish-American War, Britain, as on similar 
occasions in days gone by, sided with the United States against the 
principal European Powers. — C. C. T. 



ANGLO-AMERICAN CO-OPERATION 175 

Mahan loved his country, and as a strategist of pro- 
found historical insight he advocated an American 
Navy strong enough to meet successfully all contingencies 
the future might present. Yet he was by nature un- 
doubtedly a man of peace. His views on armament 
and arbitration were based on a knowledge of human 
nature. He felt that a sufficient change in man's atti- 
tude towards his moral obligations would prevent war. 
He expressed his feelings in these words : — ^ 

" I feel with full intensity of personal conviction that\ 
when moral motives come to weigh heavier with man- ' 
kind than material desires, there will be no war, and I 
coincidently therewith better provision of reasonable / '^ 

bodily necessities to all men." ^..,,,,0-^ Jl 

"~ As such a change in human nature unfortunately J^>^^^ 
cannot be relied on, Mahan, if he were here, would now •i^t\k niil/ 
doubtless agree with the majority of eminent strategists ,^^ . j^ 
throughout the world, that peace can be best assured by ^^ . V 
some sort of agreement under which the Navies of Great ^^^^^ -/ 
Britain and the United States would co-operate to close /W'<> /^ /^ 
the seas instantly to any nations resorting to arms with- J/UA 7jA^^ 
out having first exhausted every means of a settlement A/)/^n jUdJt 
by international arbitration. If a League of Nations ^ 

can be organised to ensure this more effectually, all the 
better ; but all Mahan' s teachings demand that America 
and Britain must ultimately stand together as the 
imperative and essential and indispensable foundation 
of any plan for the effective preservation of peace * 
throughout the world in the years to come. 

Some two thousand years ago Marcus Aurelius said : 

** Wouldst thou confer upon any country the clouds 
of war — induce its government to disarm." 

Twenty centuries later, in a speech in a.d. 1895, Mahan 
said : 
" In maintaining the strength of the British Navy, I 

1 In the unromantic but significant words raw materials reposes the 
secret of one of the most potential levers for the maintenance of peace. 



176 PEACE VIEWS [chap, xvii 

consider, lies one of the best hopes for the peace of the 
world." 

Twenty-three years after this, on the anniversary of 
the arrival of the first United States warships in British 
waters. Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander-in-Chief 
of the British naval forces on the Irish coast, concluded 
his address to the American destroyer flotilla with these 
words : 

" To command you is an honour, to work with you is 
a pleasure, to know you is to know the best traits of the 
Anglo-Saxon race." 

Mahan's conception of the preservation of universal 
peace was united action on the part of all that is repre- 
sented and implied by the Stars and Stripes and the 
Union Jack on the high-seas, and to that end he con- 
sistently urged adequate naval strength for America as 
well as Britain and enlightenment of the masses in both 
countries to bring about such union, not through the 
instrumentality of statesmen, but as a yielding to 
irresistible popular impulse. 

Mahan did not disguise his feeling of apprehension lest 
in far-off days to come the subsidence of the military 
spirit in the civilised nations of the West, and the con- 
sequent loss of those lessons of obedience and respect for 
authority and law and order which military training 
imposes upon the youth of each succeeding generation, 
should contribute to pave the way for the development 
of the yellow peril. Although a strong advocate for 
universal peace, he warned posterity that it is not to be \ . 
ensured by the representatives of Western civilisation \ \ 
dropping their arms, relaxing the tension of their moral 
muscle, and through ease and material prosperity 
becoming " fattened cattle fit only for slaughter." 

" What e'er betide," he adds, " sea power will play, in 
those days, the leading part which it has in all history, 
and the United States by her geographical position must 




SEA POWER AND PEACE 177, 

be one of the frontiers from which, as from a base of 
operations, the sea power of the civilised world will 
energise." 

As the great exponent of Sea Power, Mahan con- 
tributed more than any other factor to make possible 
the glorious peace which naval strength has done so much 
to win, and which Sea Power will continue to preserve 
as the paramount essential to the welfare and happiness 
of the human race. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



TWO ADMIRALS 



" Friendship is seldom lasting but between equals, or where the 
superiority on one side is reduced by some equivalent advantage on 
the other." — Dr. Samuel Johnson. 

Owing chiefly to his natural reserve, Mahan's circle of 
intimate friends was small. In From Sail to Steam he 
acknowledged that while he experienced no difficulty 
in entering into civil conversation with a stranger who 
addressed him, he rarely took the first step, preferring 
an introduction. He also admitted to an abhorrence of 
public speaking, and a desire, amounting to a mania, to 
slip unobserved into a back seat wherever he went. In 
view of the proverbial sociability of the Irish race, his 
personal conclusions are of interest. He says : " But 
I am bound to admit I get both these dispositions from 
my father, whose Irishry was undiluted by foreign ad- 
mixture. I have none of the gregariousness of the 
French or Irish." 

Such tendencies do not make for a large personal 
acquaintance. Had he been of the pushing, aggressive, 
advertising type, Mahan could no doubt have made him- 
self one of the most widely known Americans of his day 
and generation. Despite his innate modesty and 
retiring nature, however, he earned for himself an exalted 
place among the most eminent men the United States 
have so far produced. 

His European experiences apparently had a broadening 
effect, for he writes to his family : 

" The mixing easily with strangers is sometimes a 

178 



ADMIRAL BOUVERIE CLARK 179 

natural gift, but when it is otherwise, custom soon rubs 
off natural shyness. There are few men naturally more 
retiring than myself, yet this cruise has resulted in 
making me perfectly at ease in all companies and all 
places, except when making a speech, and even that is 
getting easier." 

One of the distinguished naval officers who best knew 
him and understood him was Vice-Admiral Sir Bouverie 
Clark of the British Navy. Owing to their migratory 
existence, it is inevitable that the friendships of naval 
men should often be kept alive by correspondence. 
That between Bouverie Clark and Mahan was no excep- 
tion to the rule. An outline of the lifelong friendship 
of these two Admirals is contained in a letter from Sir 
Bouverie Clark to the author. Here it is ; 

" I have to thank you for your letter of March 20, 
telling me you have undertaken the task of writing a 
biography of Admiral Mahan, and asking me for a letter 
giving my recollections of him as a friend. This I find 
a little difficulty in doing, as our friendship consisted of 
two phases with a considerable gap between them, 
and during the latter stage was mainly on paper. 

" When I first met Mahan in 1884, on the Pacific 
Station, he was in command of the U.S. corvette 
Wachusett, and I commanded H.M. ship Sappho. We 
met several times at various Chilian and Peruvian ports, 
and after exchanging the usual official visits, we soon 
became very friendly, although, as you say, he was a 
reserved man. During our conversations we found 
many subjects of mutual interest, and I was strongly 
attracted towards him, and formed a very high opinion 
of his sound common sense in all matters that we ever 
discussed together, and the longer I knew him the more 
I admired him. 

" Towards the end of 1884 I returned to England on 
promotion to Captain, and our brief but lasting friend- 
ship came temporarily to an end. During the next ten 
years I was serving afloat almost continuously. But in / 
1895, when his books on ' Sea Power ' were published, I 
13 



180 TWO ADMIRALS [chap, xviii 

could not refrain from writing to him to tell him with 
what cordial appreciation they had been received in 
naval circles on this side. From that time I continued 
a desultory correspondence with him up to the time of 
his last illness, and I saw him on each of his rare visits 
to this country, if I happened to be in England myself, 
and in 1894 he paid me a short visit at the Royal Naval 
Barracks at Devonport, where I was then in command. 
After that I was appointed ' Director of Transports ' at 
the Admiralty, and during the South African War of 
1899 to 1902 I was in pretty constant correspondence 
with Mahan and gave him a lot of information about the 
Transport work for The Story of the War in South Africa, 
which he was then writing. 

" I have, I think, copies of all his books ; but that 
book and his Life of Nelson I am proud to have ' from 
the Author.' I am afraid this letter will not be of much 
help to you, but it will explain the circumstances of my 
friendship with Mahan. I never kept copies of any of 
my letters to him. 

" With best wishes for the success of your biography, 
believe me, 

" Yours faithfully, 

" BouvERiE Clark." 

Although the Admiral kept no copies of his letters to 
Mahan, he carefully preserved Mahan' s letters to him, 
and their contents, which by his courtesy have been made 
available for the purposes of this book, throw light on 
Mahan' s views on many important subjects. They 
show that Mahan had very decided political views, and 
that he was staunch Republican, being of the opinion, 
rightly or wrongly, that the Democratic Party were 
opposed to the creation of such a Navy as he considered 
essential to the safety and welfare of the United States : 

" Being of the opposite party to the Administration, 
I am less concerned than as a patriot I ought to be ; but 
in truth from the beginning of our nationality, in 1789, 
the Democratic Party has refused the maintenance of a 
Navy such as necessity, and therefore patriotism. 



THE MENACE OF GERMANY 181 

demands, I shall not feel secure while they are 
m office."* 

As regards British politics, his sympathies were on the 
side of the Conservatives and, despite his Irish Catholic 
descent, he was strongly opposed to Home Rule. He 
writes : 

" I am, and always have been, a convinced anti-Home 
Ruler, and I greatly disadmire the methods by which 
your present Government has reduced Great Britain to 
a single-chamber State. This business of the Lower 
House of the legislature assuming all power to itself for 
five years seems to me despotism like that of the French 
National Convention of 1792, only not tempered, as that 
was, by Revolution." 

The British alliance with Japan did not appeal to 
him : " friendly relations, certainly — but no alliance." 
He had no use whatever for the Turk. He thoroughly 
realised and appreciated the gravity of the menace of Ger- 
many, and in one letter expressed his views in these words : 

" She has now, what she had not forty years or less 
ago, a huge trade and industrial system resting on the 
sea. Your position and superior navy can throttle it "^ 
in case of trouble. The Dreadnought gave her a chance--— 
to take a new start, nearly even, to mantain equality on 
the sea. Of course she can't do it, unless your people 
weaken ; but that she should take the off-chance of your 
so far weakening, through the Socialist element of the 
Labor Party, is not remarkable ; especially in view of 
the very wobbly — as it seems to me — attitude of the^ 
present Government. I myself think, and have thought/ K 
ever since you struck hands with Japan to the temporary ,- 1 
ruin of Russia, that your foreign policy has been on the.! ' 
wrong track. Germany could not spend so much on her 
Navy, nor ride so high a horse, if Russia were what she 
was. But your Government made France keep her 

^ Tho policy of tho present Democratic Administration would seem 
to tend towards the construction of " incomparably the strongest 
Navy in tho world," to qviote the words of Secretary Daniels. 



182 TWO ADMIRALS [chap, xviii 

hands off, and Germany was only too glad to see Russia 
in a scrape from which she must issue weakened." 

Among Mahan's many intellectual possessions was the 
priceless gift of common sense, that supreme quality 
which mercifully throws the sunlight of intelligence upon 
the sombre shadows of prejudice and ignorance, and 
when given full play evolves adequate solutions of most 
of the problems of life. It might almost be said to have 
been the key-note of his character. It seems to have 
stood him in good stead throughout his career, and have 
safely steered him through many a rocky shoal. He 
looked facts straight in the face and allowed neither 
sentiment nor inclination to sway him one pin's point 
from the convictions his mind dictated. Like many 
another faithful Cobdenite of the present generation, he 
realised that while the principle of free trade is sound, 
the changed conditions of the twentieth century render 
its application impracticable. In his own words : 

" Although myself theoretically a free trader, I am 
satisfied that the system is impossible to-day. The 
world won't have it ; and if the world don't want it, 
it is of no use one nation standing out. I believe you are 
on the road to what Dizzy conceived as Imperial Demo- 
cracy. We are much the same ; and I believe in it as 
inevitable." 

His views on Latin- America are reflected in the follow- 
ing extract : 

" The Chilians have disappointed everyone. I only 
have a compensation. I ventured dour predictions as 
to the result of the Latin-American incapacity for 
governing themselves ; and just as I was about to 
publish the beggars settled down and behaved with 
remarkable decency for some time. However, when the 
book was in print, they broke out again from Guatemala 
down to Buenos Ayres ; and when Chili joined in the 
riot the case was made, for it is always open to say during 
my life, " Why, look at Chili : after thirty years' quiet the 




Photo by Elliott d: Fnj. 

VICE-ADMIRAL SIE BOUVERIE CLARK, K.C.B. 



182] 



CLEVELAND AND VENEZUELA 183 

blood was too strong," etc. I am sorry for them, however ; 
such doings are bad for all hands. I don't see any like- 
lihood of my coming your way. A man with a family 
and small means is pretty well anchored, and that is my 
fix. Unless my next ship takes me across, I am not 
likely to go." 

Here is his frank and friendly comment on the Vene- 
zuelan incident : 

"It is only six months since our President resisted 
firmly — and in my opinion most properly — consider- 
able popular clamor to interfere in your difficulty with 
Nicaragua. I don't expect you to think him right now, 
but I think you should remember the other fact, and 
make allowance for a dictatorial, self-willed man, unused 
to diplomatic phrasing, expressing himself more strongly 
than he realised, or perhaps even now understands. 
Upon the right or WTong of the particular contention I 
express no opinion, but it seems to me clear that, although 
Great Britain is so great and long-established a Power 
here, it is impossible to say that her interests in the 
questions of this continent can possibly be as vital to her 
as ours to us. I will not believe war possible : if it 
comes, and I am in it, I think I shall have to request the 
Admiralty to hoist on your ships some other flag than 
the British^ — for, save our own, there is none other on 
which I should be so reluctant to fire." 

He expressed in this wise his feelings at the time of the 
assassination of President McKinley : 

*' The death of our President was sad in its utter use- 
lessness and folly. If the scoundrel had tried, he could 
not better have demonstrated the absurdity as well as 
wickedness of the crimes of which he is one instance. 
McKinley was at the very crown of his career. He 
could not have got higher ; success had attended him 
throughout, and he had fairly reached the end of one 
set of difficulties. Another was opening before him, but 
as yet nothing had happened to dim in the least the 
lustre of his success. He was not only honored, but 
had conquered a singular affection in the whole com- 



184 TWO ADMIRALS [chap, xviii 

munity. Life could have brought him no more ; the 
murderer simply secured him his safe place in our his- 
tory. As regards the nation, the feeling of security was 
no more affected than it would be by the killing of the 
Emperor of Austria. I think there is a general feeling 
that Roosevelt is even a better man for the immediate 
future." 

The two Admirals seem to have differed on the Turkish 
question, although there is no evidence of the extent to 
which Mahan's correspondent was supporting the Turk 
as a measure of political expediency or of the nature of 
that support. Constantinople and the control of the 
Dardanelles, the only gateway to the Mediterranean not 
in the safe custody of Great Britain, are of vast strategic 
and political importance, no matter in whose possession 
they may be, and this fact has for centuries postponed 
the inevitable doom of the Turk until the Great War 
arrived to settle the question. 

The following letter from Mahan in October 1913 is 
fairly characteristic of his correspondence with Admiral 
Bouverie Clark. The contents of a number of other 
letters are referred to elsewhere : 

" Makshmebe, Quogue, Long Island. 

" My dear Clark, 

" Your birthday letter to me made a bull's-eye 
this time, arriving here on the forenoon of the very day. 
Many thanks for your good wishes and remembrance. 
I am very well for 73, but I certainly lose in a twelve- 
month. I have bathed in the sea all the summer, and 
for both surf and swimming still do well enough. I 
also still can ride my bicycle, though neither so fast 
nor so far. It takes indeed over twenty minutes and 
three or four miles to get my heart working right. In 
this flat country we rarely walk anywhere ; our wheels 
are always at the door for use. 

" My last letter to you must have been from Sicily, 
and probably from Palermo. We left there April 5 
in a very slow Cunarder, the Saxonia, but had a delight- 
ful voyage, if it did take two weeks. After another 



THE TURK 185 

fortnight in town we came here and have remained 
steadily. In fact, it is our home, as we not only 
have here all our household goods, but have developed 
in the five years very attractive surroundings. Here, 
and here only, we are all satisfied for the summer. We 
have always a blaze of color from the flowers, ' and 
more sunshine to the square foot and to the week than 
any place we know. 

" You must not look for sympathy with your pro- 
Turk view from me, nor, I believe, from one American 
in a hundred. The individual Turk I daresay is a very 
decent fellow when his blood is not up, but I should 
suppose it as settled as any historical question can be 
that the Turkish race has no capacity for government, 
except by the sword. Now, the sword is a good thing 
in the background, but to be the only resource in peace 
as in war, and upon non-combatants, is not political 
management. The Balkan peoples have probably 
behaved very badly also, but they have demonstrated 
that they can organise and that they can lick the Turks. 
It is not the fighting quality of the Turk that has fallen, 
but the administrative incapacity of the Government, 
with, probably, a momentary absence of any single able 
man, that left the army, so called, a disorganised mob. 
Turkey is hopeless. Her very return upon Adrianople, 
though the natural thing to do, only mortgages her future 
more deeply. 

" Sir Edwin Pears, for forty years resident in Con- 
stantinople, and now President of the European Bar 
there, in an article in the June Contemporary, reaffirmed 
what he had said twelve years before : ' Whenever the 
dead weight of Turkish misrule had been removed, the 
young Christian states have been fairly started on the 
path of civilisation and satisfy the reasonable expecta- 

^ The author has had the privilege of sharing with the Admiral's 
family the enjojonent of the garden at Marshmere, where the scent 
of the sweetbriar steals through the open windows, with a fragrant 
reminder " how lovesome a thing is a garden, down pathways of 
delight," and accentuating the truth of Gurney's inspired words : 
" The kiss of the sun for pardon. 

The song of the birds for mirth — 
One is nearer God's heart in a garden 
Than anywhere else on earth." 



186 TWO ADMIRALS [chap, xviii 

tions of the statesmen, etc., who sympathised with 
and aided them in their aspirations for freedom.' Pears 
was born in 1835, and so is of an age to have imbibed that 
old British feeUng of the Crimean War, when, as Lord 
SaHsbury said, you backed the wrong horse. 

" I follow your politics with interest, but I find I can't 
read as much or as carefully as I did, so that I am less up 
than I could wish. You always have my best wishes for 
your country no less than for yourself. 
" Always sincerely yours, 

" A. T. Mahan." 

The culminating point of the career of Mahan's dis- 
tinguished friend came in the Boer War, when he was 
appointed Director of Transports. The task was colossal. 
Several hundred thousand troops with equipment and 
war supplies for a peculiarly difficult campaign had to 
be transported six thousand miles by sea, and the lines 
of water communication preserved intact. Those were 
the historic days in which the German Emperor sent his 
interfering message to Kruger and England promptly 
replied by sending out the Flying Squadron under com- 
mand of Admiral Arthur Taylor Dale, to whom the 
author has the honour of being cousin. On hearing of 
the effect of the Flying Squadron, President Kruger is 
reported to have said, " The little old lady sneezed, and 
the mighty war lord fell on his knees." Those were 
the days of Victoria the Good. 

In The Story of the War in South Africa, published in 
1900, Mahan describes the feat of the British Transport 
Service as an incident unprecedented, and in its success 
unsurpassed in military history ; adding that as a 
triumph of organisation it reflected the utmost credit 
not only upon the Admiralty, but upon the Director of 
Transports, Admiral Bouverie Clark. 

Mahan's conclusions as expressed in this book, from the 
point of view of the military strategist, are of interest. 
As regards moral and its effect upon the ultimate result 



THE BRITISH OFFICER 187 

of the conflict, he was of opinion that two factors largely 
contributed to influence victory for the British forces. 
One was, that in order to ensure their wonderful mobility, 
the Boers had ever a horse tethered close at hand, on 
which to escape in the event of disaster — thus attracting 
their minds towards defence. As opposed to this the 
British officers enjoyed the reputation of being ever in 
the vanguard, willingly and cheerfully laying down their 
lives whenever the supreme sacrifice was in their opinion 
of benefit to the cause or to the welfare of the men under 
their command. This influenced their minds towards 
attack, and, as every strategist knows, attack, not defence, 
is the trump card ; Will Shakespeare's Once more unto 
the breach ; close the wall up with our English dead." 
Mahan contends that the element of stupidity, which has 
been somewhat lavishly attributed to the British officer 
in cheaply holding his own life, has a military value, not 
only great but decisive ; and he summarises the situa- 
tion in these memorable words : *' Having been thus 
reproached for now two centuries, the question is apt — 
Where has it placed Great Britain among the nations of 
the earth ? " 

Probably " Bobs " of Kandahar could have given as 
good an answer to that question as any man. Here 
is a letter of his to Mahan, written from Cape Town, 
January 23, 1900 : 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" Please accept my best thanks for your letter of 
the 19th December. It was most kind of you to think 
of writing to me, and I can assure you that your letter 
gave me great pleasure. 

" As you write, the work here is more arduous by far 
than was at first supposed. We are learning how differ- 
ently war must be conducted nowadays, and how 
impossible it is for positions, held by a determined enemy 
who can use their rifles with effect, to be taken by a 
frontal attack. We have had our lessons, and I trust we 
shall benefit by them. 



188 TWO ADMIRALS [chap, xviii 

" The Boers have proved themselves to be no ordinary 
taeticians, and the want of transport, confining us as it 
did to fines of railway, forced us to play into their hands. 
Matters are mending by degrees, and I trust you will 
receive good accounts of our proceedings ere very long. 

" I hope when next you go to England, I may have 
the great pleasure of being able to welcome you there. 

" With kindest regards, 

" Believe me, yours very sincerely, 

" Roberts." 

Perhaps one of the noblest examples of an English 
officer's contempt for danger when duty calls was given 
by Nelson at Trafalgar, when, in order to encourage the 
crew of the Victory to do their utmost, he courted death 
by insisting upon exposing himself on deck in a uniform 
covered with brilliant orders, so that his brave men 
might instantly recognise him and derive inspiration 
from his presence among them in the very thick of the 
fight. His precious fife paid forefeit ; but, would 
England have won at Trafalgar had Nelson remained 
out of sight ? * 

At the end of the Boer War Mahan writes : 

" Your war bill is immense ; . but the real question 
is whether, as an investment, you will be repaid by a 
renewed South Africa and by the increased weight of 
the Empire in the councils of the world. I think you 
will, and if so, while I could wish your bargain had been 
cheaper, it is a good one none the less. All this talk 
about the costliness of war is nonsense, except where one 
pays too dearly for the result, or where the result is 
worthless. Such a bargain is bad in any line of life. A 
railway run through a region that won't pay one per 
cent, on the investment is as bad a bargain as a resultless 
war. Of course it is a pity results can't be had without 

1 The query opens the flood-gates of historical speculation, and 
suggests another absorbing mental exercise, the contemplation of 
what might have been the history of England had Queen Elizabeth 
married, and peopled the throne with Tudor stock, to the elimination 
of the Stuarts and the unstaging of the Cromwellian drama. 



KRUGER 189 

killing people and upsetting trade ; but one has only to 
say Kruger, and realise that some bad things cannot be 
settled except by fighting. 

" Now as to Buller, of whom you speak, I don't know 
if I ever said my say to you, but he seems to me the 
most colossal failure of your war. I met him several 
times in 1894, and was much impressed by him. Never 
so astounded as by his actions ; not only by what 
seemed to me mistakes in generalship, but also by a 
certain seeming indecision— notably in his dealing with 
Warren. As regards popularity with his own command, 
we had singular evidence of the same sort in our civil 
war in McClellan ; a man of the highest repute before ; 
who proved a most signal failure, but whose men always 
swore by him, and probably still do. Like Buller, he 
too was a man of exceptional personal gallantry." 

Admiral Bouverie Clark evidently received a copy of 
The Story of the War in South Africa from the author, and 
his letter of thanks brought the following response from 
Mahan : 

" It was a very small matter to send you an advanced 
copy of the Boer War, after your invaluable help in 
giving me data for one of the most interesting — to me — 
and useful chapters in it. I wanted to lay it on you a 
little thicker than I did, for I know well enough that the 
smoother and more efficiently a machine runs, the less 
credit does the driver get with the outside world. But 
I was afraid my intention, by being too obvious, might 
defeat itself; and I trusted that the unqualified praise 
I gave to the work itself, and coupling your name immedi- 
ately with it as the person most directly responsible, 
would get you your dues with thinking men." 

Their cordial relations continued until the end, and 
when Mahan " reached port after stormie seas " and 
went to live in the Garden of Forgiveness ^ his old friend 
sent this tribute to his memory : 

" It has always been a source of pride to me to be 
able to say I had the friendship of so distinguished a 
man." 



CHAPTER XIX 

AS STATESMAN 

" The secret of Mahan's success was the breadth of view of the 
writer. One felt, in regarding his calm and often stately periods, 
that he was regarding history from a pinnacle whence nothing petty 
was visible, that he addressed his fellow-men of all nations, and that 
his judgment in matters where bias might have been looked for was 
serenely impartial. The books bore the impress of statesmanship in 
the highest meaning of the word." — Sydenham. 

In the popular acceptation of the word Mahan was not 
a statesman. He held no political portfolio, nor did he 
influence public opinion through the statesman's 
customary medium of oratory. But in a very practical 
sense he was a statesman of a high order, because he had 
the rare gift of foresight and the ability to make known 
to the world at large, in language all could understand, 
the supreme importance of adequate^ naval and mari- 
time strength as a guarantee of national security. 
Moreover, he warned civilisation of its need for self- 
preservation against an existing but unacknowledged 
source of deadly peril. 

Of his innumerable pronouncements conveying such 
warnings the following from an article he contributed to 
the Daily Mail of October 31, 1910,i is characteristic : 

" These things are not sai'd to incite strife, for indeed 
they are not new, even if ignored. I would now, as I 
hoped ten years ago, that things had taken a different 
turn. But as they are, it is in the interests of peace to 
point out that no force in Europe can so act as a deter- 
rent from war, induced by the possible ambitious or 
otherwise inevitable tendencies of Middle Europe as can 

^ Reproduced in the Appendix by courtesy of the Editor of the 
Daily Mail. 

190 



THE CARIBBEAN 191 

the Navy of Great Britain. The dividing line cleft 
between the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente is 
too plain to be ignored. It has been emphasised at 
Algeciras, in Crete, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and in other 
incidents less conspicuous but equally known. Under 
such circumstances the one salvation from war is readi- 
ness for war, based upon a clear appreciation of what 
can best be done and what should most be feared." 

The pages of The Interest of America in International 
Conditions are full of timely warning to all but the 
intellectually blind, and some of the technicalities and 
dangers of the international situation are enlarged upon 
in the articles published under the title of Some Neglected 
Aspects of War. An intimate glimpse into Mahan's 
vision as a statesman may be had by a perusal of his 
masterly analysis of the strategic features of the Gulf of 
Mexico and the Caribbean Sea written in 1897. It 
might be safely contended that probably no other man 
living could have written that article. In it Mahan 
demonstrates the future military significance of the 
waters known as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of 
Mexico, and their ultimate commercial importance 
resulting from the development of the United States and 
the inevitable completion of a canal through the Isthmus. 
He first outlines the political and strategic history of the 
Mediterranean, and then with the aid of an excellent map — 
herein reproduced — he illustrates the eventual prominence 
of the trade routes converging upon the Isthmus, 
and the relative strategic values of Cuba, Jamaica, the 
Windward Passage, Santa Lucia, Martinique, St. 
Thomas, Santo Domingo, the mouth of the Mississippi, 
Pensacola, the Strait of Florida, the Yucatan Channel, 
the Mona and Anegada Passages, and other points of 
military interest within the sphere of sea power, of which 
he asserts the Caribbean is pre-eminently the domain. 
He holds that Cuba, largely on account of her size, enjoys 
the preponderant strategic position of the Caribbean, 



192 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

with Jamaica a good second, and that " a superior navy 
resting on Santiago de Cuba or Jamaica could very 
seriously incommode all access of the United States to 
the Caribbean mainland, and especially to the Isthmus." 
In the following words Mahan comments upon the 
dramatic history of Jamaica : 

" When one recalls that it passed into the hands 
of Great Britain in the days of Cromwell by accidental 
conquest, the expedition having been intended primarily 
against Santo Domingo ; that in the two centuries and 
a half which have since intervened it has played no part 
adequate to its advantages, such as now looms before it ; 
that, by all the probabilities, it should have been recon- 
quered and retained by Spain in the war of the American 
Revolution ; and when, again, it is recalled that a like 
accident and a like subsequent uncertainty attended 
the conquest and retention of the decisive Mediterranean 
positions of Gibraltar and Malta, one marvels whether 
incidents so widely separated in time and place, all 
tending towards one end — the maritime predominance 
of Great Britain — can be accidents, or are simply the 
exhibition of a Personal Will, acting through all time, 
with purpose deliberate and consecutive, to ends not 
yet discerned." 

Mahan' s summary of the military situation is to the 
effect that the islands of Cuba and Jamaica are the real 
rivals for control of the Caribbean and of the Gulf of 
Mexico ; that the strategic centre of interest for both 
is to be found in the Windward Passage, and that a 
mobile force capable of keeping the Windward Passage 
open throughout hostilities would be necessary in order 
to render Jamaica strategically equal or superior to 
Cuba. 

In Lessons of the War with Spain he draws special 
attention to the strategic importance of Puerto Rico : 

" The military importance of Puerto Rico should never 
be lost sight of by us as long as we have any responsi- 
bility, direct or indirect, for the safety or independence 



PUERTO RICO 193 

of Cuba. Puerto Rico, considered militarily, is to Cuba, 
to the future Isthmian Canal and to our Pacific coast, 
what Malta is, or may be, to Egypt and the beyond ; and 
there is for us the like necessity to hold and strengthen 
the one, that there is for Great Britain to hold the other 
for the security of her position in Egypt, for the use of 
the Suez Canal and for the control of the route to India. 
It would be extremely difficult for a European state to 
sustain operations in the Eastern Mediterranean with a 
British fleet at Malta. Similarly it would be very 
difficult for a transatlantic State to maintain operations 
in the Western Caribbean with a United States fleet 
based upon Puerto Rico and the adjacent islands. The 
same reasons prompted Bonaparte to seize Malta in his 
expedition against Egypt and India in 1798. In his 
masterly eyes, as in those of Nelson, it was essential 
to the communications between France, Egypt, and India. 
His scheme failed, not because Malta was less than 
invaluable, but for want of adequate naval strength, 
without which no maritime position possesses value." 

There is a wealth of significance in this brief note from 

the man whom many consider the greatest American of 

modern times : 

" White House, Washington, 

" November 21, 1904. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" Your letter pleases me greatly. I thank you 
for it. 

" I wish you could get on here. There are so many 
things I should like to speak to you about. 
" Faithfully yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 

Mr. Roosevelt held the opinion that Mahan was the 
only great naval writer who possessed in international 
matters the mind of a statesman of the first class. 
Haply Mr. Roosevelt realised the extent of Mahan' s 
admiration for him. In one of his letters to his friend 
Sir Bouverie Clark in 190G Mahan said : 

" Your letter spoke of the President's spelling reform. 



194 AS STATESMAN [cpiap. xix 

then I suppose a new thing. To-day's paper announces 
that the Lower House has passed a resolution contrary to 
it, and the President has ' come down.' With his usual 
luck, I suppose this will increase his popularity ; it will 
probably take immensely, ' bowing to the will of the 
people, as expressed by their representatives.' He 
deserves it, however ; he is a thoroughly good fellow all 
round ; honest and immensely shrewd. Better judges 
than I say he is one of the most sagacious ' politicians ' 
in the country ; but from beginning to end his strength 
with the people has been his downright courage, to 
which they are little used in public men." 

As with other authors, certain portions of Mahan's 
writings specially commended themselves to the critics. 
The Athenceum had this to say of three chapters of The 
Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and 
Empire : 

" We have little hesitation in saying that the two 
chapters examining the war against commerce before and 
after the issue of the Berlin Decree of 1806 and the last 
chapter summing up ' The Function of Sea Power and 
the Policy of Great Britain in the Revolutionary and 
Napoleonic Wars ' rank beside the most profound his- 
torical work of the century. We do not know when- 
ever before has the true aspect of the ' noiseless pressure ' ^ 
been fully revealed. The remarkable character of these 
chapters is exhibited in their statesmanlike grasp of all 
controlling circumstances and the lucidity with which 
the conclusions are set out." 

In Mie following letter Mr. John Hay, one of the most 
capable diplomats that have ever represented Uncle 
Sam, thanked Mahan for an expression of apprecia- 

1 The battles of naval warfare are few compared with those on 
land ; it is the unremitting daily silent pressure of naval force, when 
it has attained command of the sea against an opponent — the con- 
tinuous blocking of communication — which has made sea power so 
decisive an element in the history of the world." — A. T. Mahan. 



JU±liN ±1AY lUiJ 

tion of the great work he was doing as Secretary of 
State ! 



" Washington, D.C, 

" November 23, 1904. 

" My dear Captain Maiian, ' 

" I have received your Jetter of the 20th of 
November, and I am greatly obhged to you for your kind 
references to our work in the State Department. I 
receive so many comphments which I know I do not 
deserve, from people who have no capacity for judging, 
that when I occasionally get a generous word of support 
from the highest possible authority, like yourself, I am 
extremely grateful for it, and begin to doubt my own 
distrust. 

" Yours sincerely, 

" John Hay." 

The following correspondence tells its own story : 

" Sampson Low, Marbton & Company, 
" London, E.G., 

" January 6, 1893. 

" To Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N., 
" President, 

" United States Naval War College. 
" Dear Sir, 

" We have the honour to be the English publishers 
of your invaluable and, to an Englishman, enchanting 
books on the Influence of Sea Power. I have read your 
books from cover to cover with the keenest interest, and 
I read them as one who has almost from childhood recog- 
nised that only by sea power can we hope to exist as a 
powerful nation. . . . 

" My object in writing this letter — and I hope you 
will pardon my presumption in doing so — is to ask you 
if you would object to give me for publication very 
briefly your opinion on these points : 

"1. Would the making of a submarine tunnel 
between England and France, apart from com- 
mercial considerations, be a wise or an unwise 
policy ? 

" 2. Would such a tunnel be a danger to our sea 
power ? 
14 



196 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

" Your opinion and authority would have immense 
weight, and if I venture to ask for it, it is in the name 
of those dead British naval heroes the importance of 
whose devoted services to their country and to the world 
has never before been so brilliantly stated and abundantly 
proved as in your own writings. 
" I am, Sir, 

" Your obedient Servant, 

" R. B. Marston, 
*' Director, S. L. M. & Co., Ltd:' 



The tenor of Mahan's reply is contained in these words : 

" Such a tunnel would be a bridge between France 
and Great Britain. . . . Historically, every bridge is 
an element of danger. ... It may safely be predicted 
that once built it will not be destroyed, but that through- 
out any war reliance will be placed upon its defences. 
History teaches us again and again the dangers of sur- 
prise — the dangers of over-confidence. You will have 
continually in your midst an open gap, absorbing a large 
part of your available force for its protection. As to the 
effect upon the sea power of Great Britain, it is obvious 
that your Navy, were it tenfold its present strength, can 
neither protect the tunnel nor remedy the evils incurred 
by its passing into the hands of an enemy. ... It is 
an odd kind of thing — making one lay down the pen 
and muse — to think of an open passage to Great Britain 
in the hands of a foe, and British ships, like toothless 
dogs, prowling vainly round the shores of the island." 

Mahan did national service by acting as the confiden- 
tial adviser of leading statesmen of the day. The time 
is not yet ripe for the publication of all the documents 
found among his effects, but some idea of the national 
importance of his activities in this direction may be 
gained by reading between the lines of the following 
portions of his correspondence with Senator Lodge, who 
has kindly consented to their publication, adding on his 
own behalf that he is glad to do anything to testify to 



ARBITRATION TREATIES 197 

his friendship for Admiral Mahan and his admiration for 
his great abihties : 

" 45 W. 35th St., 

"January 5, 1912. 

" My dear Mr. Lodge, 

" I am sensible that there is some incongruity 
in a man of my slight equipment and practice of affairs 
making a suggestion to one of your long antecedents 
concerning a provision of the pending treaties ; but the 
following argument has had such weight in my mind that 
I venture to submit it. 

"1. By the universal custom of nations it has been, 
and still is, lawful and proper for nations to acquire or 
transfer territory, by war, by purchase, by exchange. 
So invariable has this rule been, that I presume it might 
claim the standing of a ' principle of law,' as cited in 
Article 1 of the treaties. We acquired the Philippines 
by purchase. Porto Rico as the result of war. Ger- 
many has just acquired a huge African territory by 
transfer from France. 

"2. Up to 1823 this principle of law applied in 
America, as well as in other quarters of the world. 
Actually, in 1809 and 1810, for instance, Great Britain 
acquired Martinique , and Guadeloupe from France by 
conquest and returned them in 1814. Since 1823, and 
at present, the United States by the Monroe Doctrine 
opposes and forbids such transfers, under threat of 
opposition by us ; but how can this policy of a single 
nation affect a principle of the law of nations, when a 
case involving such a principle is brought before any 
tribunal ? whether the tribunal be one of ultimate 
arbitration or intermediary, such as the proposed Joint 
High Commission. How can such a tribunal hold that 
the question of transfer of territory, everywhere recog- 
nised and practised, is not * justiciable ' by the applica- 
tion of principles of law, ' when such law exists in the 
shape of established practice and custom everywhere 
except in the American hemisphere, and there only 
because of the pronouncement of a single state, unsup- 
ported either by general assent or by treaty ? 

"3. I am told that a matter of government policy 



198 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

is ipso facto ' not justiciable.' If that means that a 
State will not submit to arbitration a matter it considers 
one of vital policy, I agree ; but it appears to me that 
such an assertion merely begs the question. Such a 
State refuses, not because there is no law to govern a 
tribunal in the case, but because its vital interests are in 
its mind above law. That is a tenable position, and one 
on which all States act : an attribute of sovereignty 
recognised by all. But this does not deprive the existing 
law of its validity, nor make the matter one that is not 
' justiciable by reason of being susceptible of decision 
by the application of the principles of law.' On the 
contrary, the matter remains one that is so justiciable, 
because there is an applicable law, until by some change 
of law, either by general consent or by specific treaty, 
it is removed from that category of questions. 

"4. It appears to me that there is prevalent a mental 
confusion between a question being non-justiciable 
because a State as a matter of policy will not submit it 
to arbitration, and its being non- justiciable because 
there is no law that applies to the case. The only recon- 
ciling factor that I can see is the general acceptance, as 
of a fundamental principle, that when a State defines 
a national determination as a national policy, that policy 
merely ceases to be justiciable by law, however long the 
applicable law may have existed. 

"5. This is substantially what Italy has lately done 
— very rightly in my judgment— and other States have 
silently accepted. Such tacit acceptance is a step toward 
the full acceptance of the principle just stated ; but it 
overturns in so far most of the labored procedure of the 
Hague Conference, by leaving each State the final judge 
in its own case, unbound even by specific agreements, 
still less by ' principles of law.' That a State is such 
final judge has been an axiom ever since I first studied 
international law ; qualified possibly by treaty obliga- 
tions, when such exist, but not by the mere consensus 
which we call international law. 

" 6. I cannot but think the pending treaties fatally 
vitiated by a confusion of thought which defines 
' justiciable' as ' capable of settlement by principles of 
law,' yet apparently assumes that any principle of law 



SENATOR LODGE 199 

disappears before a national pronouncement. What 
then is law ? 

" Sincerely yours, 

" A. T. Mahan. 
" Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, 
"U.S. Senator." 

Extracts from Senator Lodge's correspondence with 
Mahan : 

" January 9, 1912. 

" I have your letters with the enclosures, which I have 
read with great interest. The one about the treaties 
with Germany is unansv/erable, and is put with great 
force and clearness. I have not seen that precise point 
put yet, but it is a very telling one, and could be used by 
those opposed to the treaties, if they chose to use it, with 
great effect. Your letter to me is also equally strong. 
I am afraid, however, that you are correct in your judg- 
ment that it would not do for you in your position as an 
executive officer of the Government to publish it, but 
if I am forced to discuss the treaties in public, which I 
do not want to do, I shall be glad to use the points you 
make. It can only harm our foreign relations to have a 
great public debate in the Senate upon these treaties. 
Foreign relations ought never to be dealt with in that 
way, but if the President insists that the treaties must 
be passed unamended and without a resolution covering 
the point of governmental policy, like Mr. Root's, and 
the right to pass upon the arbitrability of all questions 
after the decision of the International Commission of 
Inquiry, such as I have prepared, we shall have this 
protracted debate. There is a great dissatisfaction in 
the Senate with the treaties. I know of scarcely any 
Senators who are heartily in favor of them as they 
stand, even those who are anxious to support the 
Administration. I am very much troubled about them, 
and how it will work out I really cannot tell." 

" Avril 9, 1912. 

" I have read the published letter which you sent 
me with the greatest possible interest, and am much 
obliged for it. It gives me a number of new points, 



200 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

admirably stated, which I very much want when I come 
to discuss the battleships in the Senate. I am also 
glad to have the suggestion in your letter. I shall 
rob you in a perfectly conscienceless way, and use all 
your suggestions freely for the benefit of my speech. 
I think we shall put the two ships on in the Senate, for, 
so far as I can judge, the Senate is friendly to them. 
I hope the House will accept them. I knew that the 
House would be glad to vote them, being held back only 
by the party caucus." 

" Ji% 6, 1912. 

" You have probably seen that we passed the Naval 
Bill yesterday, and carried two battleships by a vote of 
43 to 12, nearly four to one. We decided that as we 
were sure to carry them it was not worth while to have 
any debate, but that, on the contrary, it was important 
to get the Bill through as soon as possible." 

''July 16, 1913. 

" It is hardly necessary to say that I am in full accord 
with you, and I also agree that we are faced with a very 
difficult situation in regard to Japan, and I am sorry to 
say that I do not think the present Administration ap- 
pears to realise it. I cannot make out what they are 
doing, for I am not in their confidence, but there seems 
to be a feebleness in the way in which they are handling 
it which makes me very anxious. The fact is that the 
Japanese are demanding what no nation can demand of 
another unless that other is subject and tributary. We 
have no right to force our people upon Japan or to compel 
them to pass land laws which will allow our people to 
buy their lands, and they cannot do it to us. But they 
are new in the family of nations, and they do not, appar- 
ently, understand this. I am very glad that you wrote 
the letter, which is a most valuable and important one." 

Although by nature unusually reserved and unassum- 
ing, Mahan was quite capable of holding his own in any 
company when occasion demanded. In The New 
American Navy Mr. Long records that on one occasion 



LORD SYDENHAM 201 

he demolished the Secretary of War, General Russell 
Alger, in front of President McKinley : 

" I remember rather a pretty scrimmage between him 
and Captain Mahan in the White House when President 
McKinley was present. The Navy had been helpful in 
connection with the Army transports and in landing 
troops, and especially efficient in destroying the Spanish 
fleet. The Secretary of War was complaining because we 
did not take the risk of blowing up our ships by going 
over the mines at Santiago Harbor and capturing also 
the city, which the Army was undertaking to capture, 
though the Navy was bound to help, of course, all it 
could. Mahan at last sailed into him, telling him that he 
didn't know anything about the use or purpose of the 
Navy, which rather amused the President, who always 
liked a little badinage. The Secretary of War, with 
his usual good-nature, took the matter in good part." 

The matter in some of his essays contained in the 
volume published as The Interest of America in Sea 
Power Present and Future brought upon him the dis- 
approval of his friend and admirer G. S. Clarke, now 
Lord Sydenham. In Mahan' s Counsels to the United 
States, which appeared in the Nineteenth Century, 
Clarke regretfully complained : 

" In magazine articles dealing with questions of the 
day, descending from the general to the particular and 
directed to a limited and special purpose, it would not 
be just to expect the same lofty standard. Nevertheless, 
while making full allowance for the change of condi- 
tions, I have read this volume of collected essays with 
disappointment. Only here and there is it possible to 
trace the hand of the author of The Influence of Sea Power 
on History. No great nation ever needed guidance more 
than does the United States to-day, the strong guidance 
of a master mind, fearlessly offered, in language which 
could not be misunderstood. No one is so well qualified 
as Captain Mahan to render this service to his country ; 



202 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

but the needed guidance is not forthcoming, for the 
statesmanship is too frequently wanting." 

He then proceeds to quote chapter and verse, and to 
other grounds for criticism he further adds these : 

" Our press, in its usual superior manner, is wont to 
lecture the United States in common with all other 
Powers ; but of animosity or of positive dislike there 
were no traces during the period of tension produced by 
President Cleveland's message. . . . Absurd as it may 
seem, there were large numbers of Americans who 
honestly believed that they were supporting an en- 
lightened Republic — that of Venezuela ! — against a 
benighted despotism. It did not occur to them that 
Venezuela is a Republic only in name, and that they 
were upholding barbarism against civilisation — gross 
corruption against pure government. The naive sur- 
prise and delight of the ' boy journalist ' who recently 
paid us a visit tells a tale. Nothing was as his school- 
books had led him to expect. ... In the Venezuela 
dispute the United States lost, as Captain Mahan 
admits, and rightly lost the sympathy of the civilised 
world. Why did he not fearlessly expound to his 
countrymen the cause of this general revulsion of sen- 
timent ? ... If then the United States, as sooner or 
later they must, accept the obligations and the responsi- 
bilities of a great nation, I believe that the movement 
will be of happy augury to the progress of the world. But 
the new policy, the policy of ' looking outwards,' will 
demand radical administrative changes, the abandon- 
ment of some cherished insular ideas, and the modifica- 
tion of a constitution eminently unfitted to meet the 
requirements of expansion across the seas. It is not a 
question only of a navy, of coast fortifications, of pre- 
parations for war, but of leading the people of the United 
States to forgo their habitual concentration upon their 
internal affairs and to seek to play a worthy part in 
moulding the destinies of mankind. Thus arises the 
vital need of statesmanlike guidance and of fearless 
speaking, and it is because I have failed to find such 
guidance so expressed in these essays that I venture 



ROOSEVELT ON ARBITRATION 203 

to criticise the master to whose brilliant teaching Great 
Britain is eternally indebted." 

There are letters the character of which is essentially 
that of a communication from one statesman to another : 
here is one : 

"June 8, 1911. 

" Dear Captain Mahan, 

" A couple of days ago Mrs. Roosevelt showed 
me with triumph your letter to the Times, which I need 
hardly say I greatly appreciate ; and immediately after- 
wards I picked up the Century and read your admirable 
piece on the Panama Canal. 

" I do wish our authorities would consult you before 
committing themselves to foolish propositions, which 
it would be dishonourable either to carry out or to refuse 
to carry out, when once they had been made into solemn 
agreements. Any man who knows you knows that you 
are incapable of advocating national wrongdoing just as 
you are incapable of advocating individual wrongdoing. 
But it is not virtue — it is mere weakness of the kind that 
ultimately leads to wickedness — to refuse to look facts 
in the face, and to take a position which implies the 
abandonment of national self-respect. 

" With Great Britain, I firmly believe, no difficulty 
can arise which we cannot solve by arbitration. But if 
Great Britain claimed as regards us what not many 
years ago the British Government claimed as regards 
their own South African possessions, that is, the right 
to permit an unlimited coolie emigration to the United 
States, this country would not arbitrate the question, 
and would no more admit the coolies than South Africa 
and Australia and British Columbia would do so. I had 
to refuse point blank to arbitrate the Alaskan boundary 
matter, and we got a settlement of that case only because 
I was forced to explain that if the Commission could not 
agree, I would have no alternative but myself to reduce 
to possession the disputed territory. The settlement 
of the Alaskan boundary settled the last serious trouble 
between the British Empire and ourselves, as everything 
else could be arbitrated ; but neither England nor the 



204 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

United States should agree to do something that they 
could not live up to. 

" If we repeated with an English vessel the experi- 
ment Captain Wilkes tried in 'CI, England would not 
arbitrate the matter ; she would say that we had to do 
as we did in '61, that is, express regret and undo the 
wrong we had done ; and England would be quite right 
in taking such a position. I feel very differently toward 
England from the way I feel toward Germany, but surely 
we must consider before making a treaty whether we 
could then refuse to make such a treaty with Germany. 
I do not believe this nation is prepared to arbitrate such 
''questions as to whether it shall fortify the canal, as to 
whether it shall retain Hawaii, nor yet to arbitrate the 
Monroe Doctrine nor the right to exclude immigrants if 
it thinks wise to do so. 

" Faithfully yours, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 
" Captain Alfred T. Mahan, 
" 160, West 86th Street, 
" New York." 

The following extracts from a letter to a friend in 
1909 reflect Mahan' s views on the subject of Germany 
and the Monroe Doctrine : 

" The Naval Appropriation Bill reached me to-day, 
and I am much indebted for it. My chief purpose in 
asking was, that if both Houses have passed the Senate 
clause, recommending the division of the Battleship Fleet 
between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, I felt it would 
be time for naval officers to speak out for the enlighten- 
ment of the people and the folly of Congress in dealing 
with such matters. As you know, the remonstrance of 
the ' one rnan,' ^ the President, with the House Com- 
mittee helped largely to prevent this suicidal recom- 
mendation. 

" Owing to the refusal of Congress to give the four 

new ships recommended by the ' one man,' the German 

Navy will in 1912 — in three years — have a stronger 

battle fleet in A.B.G. ships than we. What then shall 

1 Theodore Roosevelt. 



THE GERMAN MENACE 205 

we say, upon what shall we rely, if she, on occasion 
arising, defy us in the Monroe Doctrine ? How do we 
propose to keep that national idol on its feet without 
a superior Navy ? 

" It may be said that in any event the British Navy 
is far superior to ours ; indeed, to a degree that no one 
proposes to overtake : granted, for it is true. The 
reply is that Great Britain is already overloaded with 
colonial possessions ; her present problem being how to 
bring into a more solid framework of mutual support 
those she now has, not to acquire more American terri- 
tory, which is the gist of that to which the Monroe 
Doctrine opposes itself. The exposure of Canada, in f 
case of war with the United States, would at once bring / / 
to an acute state the question of the future political 
relations of that Dominion. Besides, we have now a 
long history of discussion with Great Britain, in which 
the Monroe Doctrine has been the avowed, or the latent, 
motive ; and it is assured that that country has no 
reason now, and no disposition, to traverse our position 
in the matter. 

" It is very different with Germany. Her commercial 
and colonial development is a matter of yesterday ; and 
the rapidity in both directions testifies at once to strong 
national purpose and to masterly organisation of effort. 
But the colonies she now has are far from the first order 
of commercial value, and all other land throughout the 
world is now pre-empted, and occupied — politically if 
not actually. Germany cannot but desire acquisition ; 
and acquisition by war is a legitimate international 
transaction. In natural resources, as distinguished 
from the value as a market which an adequate popula- 
tion constitutes as a body of consumers. South America 
probably leads the world ; and the smallness of present 
population is an additional advantage from the point 
of view of colonial acquisition. 

" In addition, should the hopes of Holland, from the 
Queen's approaching accouchement, be again disap- 
pointed, we shall be definitely menaced with the possibility 
of Germany, with the second strongest Navy in Europe, 
becoming heir to the Dutch colonial system. Is it to 
be imagined that with a claim so entirely lawful she 



206 AS STATESMAN [chap, xix 

would respect our position as to the transfer of American 

territory from one European Power to another ? She 

has done so so far ; but her Navy has not been superior. 

" The question of expenditure is not what we are 

wilHng to pay, but whether we are wilhng to hold 

our most cherished international dogma — the Monroe 

I Doctrine — at the mercy of a superior Navy, the posses- 

i sors of which may have good reason to disregard our 

\ views." 

The eminent jurist Sir Frederick Pollock wrote 
Mahan this note from the Athenaeum Club : 

" May 8, 1897. 

" Deau Captain Mahan, 

" I have been profiting by the Easter vacation 
to read your Life of Nelson. It is worth a shipload of 
arbitration treaties. 

" Yours trulv, 

" F. Pollock." 

Here is an extract from a letter from the Editor of 
McClure's Magazine, in 1902, which reflects the opinion 
in which Mahan was held by the publishers of the day : 

" We were all talking about the remarks you made 
at the Columbia exercises. Is there not there the 
subject of an article for us ? It seems to me that we 
should particularly like to have something from you 
along those lines, but then we should like to have some- 
thing along almost any line you choose to think, so that 
perhaps it were better to inquire what you are thinking 
about. What interests you at present ? For example, 
are you considering at all the future of our country in 
its relations to the policy of the present administration ? 
I should much appreciate your writing us about this, 
or, if you prefer, I might go down to see and talk with 
you." 

Soon after the publication of the first Sea Power books, 
the Editor of the Atlantic Monthly wrote Mahan that 
although he appreciated the loss which his retirement 



" THE PROBLEM OF ASIA " 207 

would entail upon the Naval Service, he would gladly 
welcome his more decided accession to the ranks of 
literature, and especially the literature of public affairs. 

No man who had not in him more than a little of the 
statesman could have written The Problem of Asia. 
A statesman has been defined as a politician who has 
broad and sagacious views and distinguished ability in 
dealing with the questions arising in public affairs. In 
this acceptation of the term Mahan was hardly a states- 
man, because he was not a politician, and minor local 
affairs did not appeal to him. But as an experienced 
and learned counsellor upon whose advice the leading 
men of the nation could rely to guide them safely through 
the mazes of international policy, more especially in its 
direct application to the larger issues of naval and mari- 
time affairs, Mahan exhibited the qualities of a states- 
man, and in such capacity was of invaluable service to 
his country. 

In the words of Katrina Trask : 

" He was, indeed, a statesman — he foresaw 
Tlie far-off vision of great things to he. 
And strove to bring it near ; with vital words 
He called on men to follow the far gleam, ; 
And warned them also of impending ilia. 
He knew the fatal rocks and shallow shoals. 
But steered his course by tJw clear star of faith. 
He was a patriot — he put aside 
His own advantage for the sake of truth ; 
Foregoing splendour of proud palaces, 
He was content to build protecting dikes 
Against the inrush of disastrous tides.'' 

Few statesmen accomplish more than a wise adminis- 
tration of the contemporary affairs of their own country, 
but Mahan has mightily influenced the destinies of many 
nations, not only in the historic times which have so 
dramatically distinguished the opening of the twentieth 
century, but in countless generations to come. 



CHAPTER XX 

AS PROPHET 

" There is no man in the wide world to-day whose opinions on all 
concerned with the branch of learning which he has made his own 
command greater respect and wider attention than those of Rear- 
Admiral Mahan. It is no exaggeration to say that from the days 
of Raleigh to those of Mahan no other author had gained a hearing 
for such a doctrine. Nowadays the case is widely different. Mahan's 
doctrines are the commonplace of naval political thought, and it is 
tacitly recognised tliat no man is entitled to raise his voice in a public 
discussion until he has inwardly digested them." — "A Birthday Ap- 
preciation," The (London) Morning Post. 

In articles in the American press commenting on the 
predominant influence of the British Fleet in having made 
possible a victorious peace, the wish has been expressed 
that Admiral Mahan were here to see the practical con- 
firmation of his doctrines. Perhaps he does see them 
in spirit. Who knows ? 

His later works must be read to appreciate the full 
measure of his political foresight. They abound in 
statesmanlike prophecy. In 1907 he wrote : 

" The persuasion that war, as an inevitable factor in 
history, is a thing of the past, is a public prepossession 
which will disappear when men study questions of inter- 
national relations in their world-wide bearing ; which 
very few do. Fallacies are in their working as insidious 
as bacteria are in theirs. There are at this moment 
pending before the world, unnoted by most, momentous 
differences which cannot be settled by arbitration." 

In The Interest of America in International Conditions, 
given to the world in 1910, he accurately foreshadowed 

208 



SURRENDER OF GERMAN NAVY 209 

the late war with dramatic fideUty. He held that the 
attack would come from Germany. He predicted that 
Italy's sympathies with England would cause her to join 
the Entente against the inevitable combination of Ger- 
many and Austria-Hungary, and gave convincing 
reasons for all his contentions. He demonstrated the 
inherent weakness of Russia, showed that the naval 
position and maritime power of Great Britain was 
supreme, " the sole military force in the world superior 
to anything that Germany can as yet bring into action," 
and forewarned the nations that concentration of the 
British Fleet in the North Sea successfully blockading 
German ports would decide the issue. 

A writer in the Marine Rundschau, describing Mahan's 
chief characteristics, deplores evidences of his lack of 
sympathy with Germany and German ambitions, and 
complains that " in many places in his writings he 
speaks with not exactly good feeling about the aggres- 
sive military spirit and such like threatening character- 
istics of the present German Empire." This writer 
confirms the impression that Mahan did not study Clause- 
witz, the great German exponent of warfare. 

A special correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, 
whose name is unfortunately not known to the author, 
writing from New York just after the surrender of the 
German Fleet to Admiral Beatty, recounts in the following 
words a remarkable instance of his prophetic foresight : 

" Shortly after the war started. Admiral Mahan 
received me in his Long Island home, and predicted that 
Germany's ' future upon the sea ' would end in a sail 
to English ports to surrender, and with the realisation of 
the prophecy of the great naval theoretician, steeped in 
history and fact, we here believe that the legend of the 
German superman disappears for all time." 

Prior to the publication of the famous Sea Power 
trilogy, it is doubtful if any nation actively realised the 
paramount importance of a large and efficient mercantile 



210 AS PROPHET [chap, xx 

marine. Its supreme value has been proved in the 
world-wide conflict just ended. The creator of the 
modern conception of Sea Power thoroughly appreciated 
it, and foresaw its influence in what he knew to be the 
great coming struggle of all time. Mr. Edward Hurley, 
Chairman of the United States Shipping Board, confirms 
Mahan in this tribute to Britain's merchant service : 

" It has long been the dominating force in ocean 
commerce and will continue to be after the war. Auto- 
cracy might have throttled the world without the British 
merchant marine,^ mobilising the men and food of the 
British Empire. We owe British merchant ships and 
sailors a great debt for transporting our man-power to 
France." 

Mahan' s private correspondence also sustains the 
impression that he had a very clear and statesmanlike 
vision of the coming conflict. In a letter to his friend 
Admiral Sir Bouverie Clark a couple of years before 
hostilities broke out, he expressed the opinion that, 
despite apparently smooth water, there was more trouble 
ahead everywhere than " our ignorant optimists believe." 
These obsessions he confirmed in newspaper and maga- 
zine articles, and in press interviews. In what he believed 
to be the interests of his country, both publicly and 
privately, and in his confidential relations with the 
Government, he constituted himself an unceasing 
advocate of " more battleships." 

Another dictum, comprehensive appreciation of which 

1 " Viewed from whatever standpoint we may clioose, it is impossible 
to arrive at any ottier conclusion than that the British mercantile 
marine is not only the greatest British industry, but that, from its 
overwhelming importance and far-reaching effect upon mankind, it 
is the most stupendous monument of human energy and enterprise 
that the world has ever seen. Yet, with that pecuUar absence of 
pride in our own institutions, that easy-going magnanimity which, 
in spite of what not only foreign writers, but many of our own authors, 
assert, is really the most distinctive characteristic of the British 
race, we show but little appreciation of this marvel of commercial 
genius and concentrated effort." — Fbank Bullen. 



THE IMPREGNABLE DARDANELLES 211 

by the British mihtary authorities might have saved 
tens of thousands of priceless young Uves in the calamit- 
ous attempt to force the Dardanelles, is contained on 
page 823 of his work on Naval Strategy. There he says 
that: 

" Passages having a situation like that of the Wind- 
ward channel bear an analogy to bridges over a river, 
except that, unless exceedingly narrow, they must be 
held by an active force instead of by permanent works ; 
for they cannot be closed by fortifications. If, for 
instance, the Windward channel between Cuba and Haiti 
were two miles wide, with anchorage depth, it could be 
made impregnable by forts and .torpedoes against all 
ordinary attack or passage. Natural water bridges of 
such a character are of rare occurrence. The Bosphorus 
and the Dardanelles are a conspicuous example of such, 
and in the hands of a strong nation could not be forced." 

In common with other great authorities, Mahan was 
by no means infallible. Some of his naval friends were 
of opinion that his professional reputation might have 
stood even higher than it did had he published nothing 
but the three classics, The Influence of Sea Power upon 
History, The Influence of Sea Power upon the French 
Revolution and Empire, and The Life of Nelson. The 
majority, however, did not share this opinion, notwith- 
standing the undeniably inferior standard of some of his 
subsequent writings as compared with his three master- 
pieces. No one excelled him in historical treatment of 
his subject. In dealing with the intricacies of naval 
strategy his views met with the approval of his pro- 
fessional brethren, but the consensus of naval expert 
opinion did not always uphold his ideas regarding some 
of the technical details of the most effective distribution 
of the various elements of fighting power in warships. 
After the defeat of the Russian Fleet by the Japanese in 
1905, Mahan wrote an article under the title of Reflec- 
tions, Historic and Other, suggested by the Battle of the Sea 
15 



212 AS PROPHET [chap, xx 

of Japan. With some of the conclusions drawn in that 
article, which was published in the Proceedings of the 
United States Naval Institute, vol. xxxii, Admiral 
Sims did not agree, and his views,' as well as Mahan's 
article, were reprinted, at the instance of the United 
States Senate, in The Congressional Record of the 
second session of the 59th Congress, Doc. 213, 1906- 
1907. The points at issue were the relative and com- 
parative values of speed, range, size of guns, and 
effectiveness of gunfire. Given a limited expenditure, 
Admiral Sims unreservedly advocated the largest possible 
number of the most powerful guns and the highest 
possible rate of speed, compatible with tonnage, con- 
centrated in a few large all-big-gun ships ; whereas, sub- 
ject to a similarly limited expenditure, Mahan contended 
for a larger number of mixed-battery ships with powerful 
secondary batteries of 6-inch guns, to attain which he 
was willing to forgo the maximum possibilities of power 
in range and speed. He rather minimised the advant- 
age gained by the superior speed of the Japanese ships in 
the battle under review, which Admiral Sims held was won 
by the 12-inch guns, owing to their range and accurate 
fire in the favourable positions secured and maintained 
for them by superior speed ; explaining that, contrary 
to the original impressions, experience has now con- 
clusively proved that at modern battleship ranges it is 
more difficult to hit with a 6-inch than with a 12-inch 
gun, owing to the angle of fall and the respective danger 
spaces, and adding that the important consideration as 
a standard of efficiency for all kinds of gunfire is 
rapidity of hitting rather than volume of fire. 

Admiral Sims does Mahan the justice to explain very 
clearly that he was fortunate enough to be in possession 
of some highly important details of the actual fighting 
and of the effectiveness of the shellfire that were not 

1 " The inherent tactical qualities of all-big-gun, one-calibre battle- 
ships of high speed, large displacement and gun-powf*'' " 



WARNING ENGLAND 213 

available when Mahan wrote his article, which he feels 
convinced was prepared under a misapprehension of the 
facts. He suggests, however, that Mahan apparently 
failed to appreciate the inherent and very important 
tactical qualities of large vessels, and that some of his con- 
clusions were founded on mistaken principles of gunfire. 

The following extracts from an article contributed to 
the Daily Mail under date of July 6, 1910, four years 
before the Germans launched their criminal assault upon 
the sacred liberties of the world, afford an illustration of 
Mahan' s prophetic vision, as well as his statesmanlike 
grasp of fundamental facts and his gift for calm, im- 
partial statement, as if coming from a mind entirely 
detached from all sentimental considerations, although 
dealing with matters of momentous import ^ : 

" The huge development of the German Navy within 
the past decade, and the assurance that the present 
rate of expenditure — over £20,000,000 annually — will 
be maintained for several years to come, is a matter of 
general international importance. Elsewhere, and in 
another connection, I have had occasion to point out, 
in the American press, that the question immediately 
raised is not what Germany means to do with this force, 
which already is second only to that of Great Britain, 
and for which is contemplated a further large expansion. 
The real subject for the reflection of every person, states- 
man or private, patriotically interested in his country's 
future, is the simple existence present, and still more 
prospective, of a new international factor to be reckoned 
with in all calculations where oppositions of national 
interests may arise. From this point of view it is not 
particularly interesting to inquire whether Germany 
has any far-reaching purposes of invading Great Britain 
or of dismembering her Empire. 

" The people of Great Britain should not depend 

1 By the courtesy of the proprietors of the Daily Mail, this pro- 
phetic article, full of warning to British voters, is reproduced in the 
appendix. 



L. 



214 AS PROPHET [chap, xx 

upon apprehension of Germany's intentions to attack 
in order to appraise their naval necessities and awaken 
their determinations. Resolutions based upon such 
artificial stimulus are much like the excitement of drink, 
liable to excess in demonstration, as well as to mis- 
direction and ultimate collapse in energy, as momentary 
panic is succeeded by reaction. Unemotional business- 
like recognition of facts, in their due proportions, befits 
national policies, to be followed by well-weighed 
measures corresponding to the exigency of the discernible 
future. This is the manly way, neither over-confident 
nor over-fearful ; above all, not agitated. Of such 
steadfast attitude, timeliness of precaution is an essential 
element. Postponement of precaution is the sure road 
to panic in emergency. An English naval worthy oi \ 
two centuries ago aptly said, ' It is better to be afraid ] 
now than next summer when the French Fleet will be in / 
the Channel.' ^,-'' 

" In the present condition of Europe the creation of 
the German Fleet, with its existing and proposed develop- 
ment, has necessitated the concentration in British waters 
of more than four-fifths of the disposable British battle 
force. These facts constitute Germany the immediate 
antagonist of Great Britain. I do not say for a moment 
that this manifests Germany's purpose ; I simply state 
the military and international fact without inference 
as to motives." 

Mahan prophesied that submarines would not sub- 
jugate battleships. He prophesied that Zeppelins would 
be found to have been greatly over-rated. He predicted 
the war, saw that Italy would abandon the Triple 
Alliance, held that sea power would be the deciding 
factor, and that the German Navy would surrender to 
the British Fleet. In all these forecasts his judgment 
was sound, and by his statesmanlike grasp of the situa- 
tion and his eloquent exposition of its requirements on 
both sides of the Atlantic, he did more than can be 
readily estimated to make possible the glorious results 
of the titanic conflict now happily brought to a close as 
he foreshadowed. 



CHAPTER XXI 

ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS 

" Fortunately our diSerences have been mainly with Great Britain, 
the great and beneficent coloniser, a State between which and our- 
selves a sympathy, deeper than both parties have been always ready 
to admit, has continued to exist, because founded upon common 
fundamental ideas of law and justice." — A. T. Mahan. 

In the volume of articles published in 1897 under the 
name of The Interest of America in Sea Power ^ Present 
and Future will be found one on the subject of Anglo- 
American reunion, which was written in 1894 at the 
request of the Editor of the North American Review, 
and in which Mahan summarises in the following words 
his impression of the international situation as it affects 
the United States and the British Empire : 

" To Great Britain and the United States, if they 
rightly estimate the part they may play in the great 
drama of human progress, is entrusted a maritime interest 
in the broadest sense of the word, which demands, as one 
of the conditions of its exercise and its safety, the 
organised force adequate to control the general course 
of events at sea ; to maintain, if necessity arises, not 
arbitrarily, but as those in whom interest and power 
alike justify the claim to do so, the laws that shall 
regulate maritime warfare. 

" This is no mere speculation, resting upon a course 
of specious reasoning, but is based on the teaching of the 
past. By the exertion of such force and by the main- 
tenance of such laws, and by these means only. Great 
Britain in the beginning of this century, when she was 
the solitary power of the seas, saved herself from de- 

215 



/ 



\ 



216 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

struction, and powerfully modified for the better the 
course of history." 

Mahan held as a fundamental truth that the water is 
nature's great medium of communication, and con- 
sequently that control of the sea by naval supremacy 
and maritime commerce gives predominance in the 
world. He expressed in his habitually candid fashion 
his views as to the best means of bringing about the 
Anglo-American reunion he considered so essential to 
the welfare of the English-speaking peoples of the two 
hemispheres. He was of those who, in his own words, 
" hail the growing light, and would hasten gladly the 
perfect day," but he did not believe in forcing the issue. 
He did not hold with the advocates ^ of an immediate 
statesman-made naval alliance, for which he believed 
the time to be premature.^ He was convinced that 
each nation should be gradually educated to realise the 
length and breadth of its own interest in the sea. As 
soon as that was accomplished, the identity of these 
interests would, he felt, become apparent, and the result 
would be not only advantageous to the United States 
and Great Britain, but of benefit to the whole world. 

He was eager that the two nations should act together 
in complete accord upon the seas, and greatly desired a 
change in the mental attitude of his countrymen towards 
maritime affairs. His efforts in this direction eventu- 
ally met with success, especially in influential quarters, 
where, although the numbers be few, the effect is pro- 
portionately greater. The culmination was brought 
about by the war,' the incidents of which have already 

1 Sir George Clarke and Mr. Arthur Silva White. 

a 1894. 

3 " What is our next duty ? It is to establish and to maintain 
bonds of permanent amity with our kinsmen across the Atlantic. 
Terrible as war may be, even war itself would be cheaply purchased 
if, in a great and noble cause, the Stars and Stripes and the Union 
Jack should wave together over an Anglo-Saxon alliance." — Joseph 
Chamberlain. 



MUTUAL INTERESTS 217 

accomplished wonders in the direction of converting 
pubhc opinion in America, and the past three years have 
seen a transformation in the naval and maritime power 
of the United States so remarkable that even Mahan 
would have felt satisfied. Thus one of his chief objec- 
tions to what he considered, in 1894, a one-sided and 
consequently unstable naval alliance has now been 
removed. 

In the cordial co-operation of the two great Anglo- 
Saxon naval Powers he saw a pledge of universal peace, 
in which he was of like mind with those who believe 
that the Great War might have been averted had it 
been practicable in 1914 for the United States and Great 
Britain to have united in a joint declaration to the 
Central Powers that the moral and material resources of 
the English-speaking world would be instantly thrown 
into the scaleagainst any Power which initiated an armed 
attack upon any other nation. Probably no more subtly 
delicate problem ever taxed the intellectual resources of 
a statesman than that which confronted President 
Wilson during the early stages of the war. But the 
heaven-sent revelation of the truth which later came to 
the American people, made April 6, 1917, the most 
glorious day in the annals of the United States, and gave 
life and hope to the culminating phase of the world's 
struggle against military despotism. 

The distinguished author and administrator, Sir 
George Clarke, now Lord Sydenham, who was a good 
friend of Mahan' s and an outspoken critic of his writings, 
held the opinion that the best hope of attaining to that 
mutual understanding which he and Mahan so earnestly 
desired lay in the chance that the Anglo-Saxon race 
might some day find itself united in the prosecution of a 
great common object. This the war has brought about. 
Moreover, it has become the source of a glorious awaken- 
ing of Anglo-American potentialities, for by reason of the 
heart-searching exigencies of that world-crisis, England 



218 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

has found her brains and America has found her soul. 
England, who had of late become the apostle and 
victim of laissez-faire^ was in danger of losing the faculty 
of constructive administration. It was becoming the 
fashion to belittle organisation and to mistrust the skilled 
organiser. A fatal and suicidal pose, were it permitted 
to survive ; because organisation — which in the last 
analysis is intelligent constructive thought converted into 
practical effective force — is the automatic machinery 
which alone can produce worth-while results, the silent 
irresistible power which transforms small beginnings 
into great enterprises. Organisation is not a luxury, 
nor is it a fad. It is the foundation without which no 
lasting edifice of State or commerce can be erected. 
The war converted England into a huge storehouse, 
where the Allies found vast accumulations of every kind 
of munition of war of the finest quality, the miraculous 
creation of Britain's awakened capabilities ; and when 
historians summarise the chief incidents of the conflict 
and connote the more momentous and critical events 
which mainly contributed to the ultimate result, one of 
the red-letter days will be that on which David Lloyd 
George took the reins of government into his fearless 
hands, and, for the one all-compelling object of winning 
the war, instantly called to his aid the constructive brains 
of the Empire. 

America, who in recent generations, despite her 
idealism, has been devoting her energies largely to the 
making of money, has in a mighty cause poured out her 
immense resources with such lavish generosity that her 
President comes forward and says of her people : " They 
will not fail now to show the world for what their wealth 
was intended." Can England ever repay America for 
the prompt, generous, and indispensable financial assist- 
ance extended at a highly critical period of 1917 ? Can 
America ever repay England for the protection afforded 
by her Fleet during the first three years of the war ? Yes. 



AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP 219 

Both can do so by co-operating to preserve the future 
peace of the world. 

Of profound significance are these prophetic words of 
the distinguished President of, the Equitable Life 
Assurance Society of the United States, the Hon. William 
A. Day : 

" Our country is on the road to a mighty victory — 
a victory not only over our enemies in the field, but a 
victory over ourselves. The great war, deplorable and 
horrible as it is, will make better citizens of us — will 
elevate our ideals, intensify our devotion to them, and 
inspire us with a desire to render an ever-enlarging 
service to humanity." 

Ever since the dramatic opening of hostilities in 
August 1914, distinguished Americans on both sides of 
the Atlantic have vigorously and without cessation 
during the war upheld Great Britain in the most critical 
period of her history. Such men as James Montgomery 
Beck and Dr. William Thomas Manning, to name but 
two, have devoted to the cause of liberty the far-reaching 
influence of their eloquent voices, and by their never- 
failing sympathy have placed the British race under a 
debt of gratitude it is not possible to repay. 

America's gift of a million dollars to the British Red 
Cross touched the innermost chords of English hearts, 
which were still further warmed and cheered in those 
sombre days by Major Grayson Murphy's accompanying 
message : 

" We hope that you will accept our contribution as 
an earnest of the desire of our people to begin to take our 
share of the burden of the war which your forces have 
waged for three years in behalf of the whole civilised 
world." 

Mahan strikes the keynote of the fundamental unity 
of interests between England and America when he says : 

" Of all the elements of the civilisation that has spread 
over Europe and America, none is so potential for good 



220 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

as that singular combination of two essential but oppos- 
ing factors of individual freedom with subjection to law 
which finds its most vigorous working in Great Britain 
and the United States, its only exponents in which an 
approach to a due balance has been effected." 

He draws attention to the fact that the frontier which 
stretches for three thousand miles between Canada and 
the United States is from ,end to end undefended, and 
that the Canadian Pacific Railway, which in the event 
of a conflict between Great Britain and the United States 
would be the very first and most vulnerable object of 
attack, is absolutely undefended. Yet without waiting 
long enough to give England an opportunity to even 
suggest co-operation, Canada voluntarily sprang to the 
assistance of the mother-country at the very outbreak 
of the war and with the unhesitating concurrence of 
Great Britain denuded her territory of military defenders, 
thereby contributing a highly significant illustration of 
the feelings of friendly security existing between the 
Governments and people of these three countries.^ 
Mahan also pointed out that in a topographical sense 
' Canada is a permanent hostage for peace between the 
fl United States and the British Empire. 

It was in 1823, in the infant days of the American 
Republic, seventy-four years before Mahan wrote these 
words and nine years after the treaty signed on Christmas 
Eve in that old Carthusian convent at Ghent had brought 
to a termination the last hostilities between England 
and America, that Canning, the British Foreign Secre- 
tary, warned President Monroe of the danger of the Holy 
Alliance, offered to co-operate with the United States 
against its intervention in South America, and laid the 
foundation of the Monroe Doctrine, which some authori- 

1 Whitaker^s Almanack, which for half a century has been the repre- 
sentative English book of reference, subdivides its information about 
the various nations of the earth into three distinct headings : (1) British 
Empire, (2) United States of America, (3) Foreign Countries. 



MADISON, JEFFERSON AND MONROE 221 

ties have contended should rightly be called the Canning- 
Monroe Doctrine. Historic are the words in which 
President Monroe sought and received the advice of the 
former Presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, 
in this first momentous " understanding " between the 
two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race.^ 

It is a far cry from 1814 to 1914, but motives some- 
what similar to those which actuated these three eminent 
statesmen seem to have influenced red-blooded young 
Americans a century later to offer their services and 
their lives to the mother-country in another " epoch " 
in which Despotism threatened Liberty. This touching 
letter is from the widow of one of these brave and clear- 

^ " Has not the epoch arrived when Great Britain must take her 
stand, either on the side of the monarchs of Europe or on the side of 
the United States, and, in consequence, either in favor of Despotism 
or of Liberty, and may it not be presumed that, aware of that necessity, 
her Government has seized on the present occurrence as that which 
it deems the most suitable to announce and mark the commencement 
of that career ? My own impression is that we ought to meet the 
proposal of the British Government and to make it known that 
we would view an interference on the part of the European Powers, 
and especially an attack on the Colonies, as an attack on ourselves." 

Mr. Jefferson replied October 24, 1823 : " The question presented 
by the letters you have sent me is the most momentous which has 
ever been offered to my contemplation since that of Independence. 
While Europe is laboring to become the domicile of despotism, our 
endeavor shoizld surely be to make our hemisphere that of freedom. 
One nation, most of aU, could disturb us in this pursuit. She now 
offers to lead, aid, and accompany us in it. By acceding to her pro- 
position we detach her from the band, bring her mighty weight into 
the scale of free government, and emancipate at one stroke a whole 
continent which might otherwise linger long in doubt and difficulty. 
Great Britain is the nation which can do us the most harm of any one 
or all on earth, and with her on our side we need not fear the whole 
world. With her then we should the most sedulously nourish a 
cordial friendship, and nothing would tend more to knit our affections 
than to be fighting once more side by side in the same cause." 

Mr. Madison concurred in these words : " With the British power 
and Navy combined with our own, we have nothing to fear from the 
rest of the world ; and in the great struggle of the epoch between 
Liberty and Despotism we owe it to ourselves to sustain the former, 
in this hemisphere at least." 



222 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

sighted men who have laid down their Uves in the death- 
less cause, and whose memory is enshrined for all time in 
the grateful heart of England : 

" C. Clive Bayley, Esq., 

" British Consul-General, 
" New York. 
" Sir, 

" I wish to thank you for your expressions of 
sympathy for me in my trouble. I have received advice 
from the War Office and regimental officers of the Grena- 
dier Guards that my husband died for the cause of the 
Allies. 

" I can only say that I am sure he considered it a 
privilege to give his life for England and her fight, and I 
am proud that he did his work well. 

" He was among the first Americans to volunteer for 
your country, enlisting in October 1914, because he had 
followed so closely events that had happened abroad 
and foresaw that England was Germany's goal. You 
will forgive me for mentioning these small personal 
details when I am sure your time does not permit of such 
things. I only wish to say that although you have merely 
lost another private in your ranks, I know that you have 
lost a man who counted it a privilege to wear your uni- 
form and to give his life for your country. 
" Yours very sincerely, 

" Frances Kent Cook. 

"RiVERTON, New Jersey, 
" October 16, 1917." 

Such deeds and sentiments, worthy as they are of the 
noblest traditions of the Anglo-Saxon race, are the links 
in the chain of Anglo-American relations forged by the 
wisdom of Madison, Jefferson, and Monroe nearly three- 
quarters of a century before Mahan's masterly analysis 
of history bound the two countries still closer together. 

Mahan's writings afford many significant illustrations 
of the extent to which the interests of America in matters 
of momentous international import are closely bound up 
with those of Britain,|a situation happily^ recognised by 



BRITISH FRIENDSHIP 223 

leading statesmen and naval authorities on both sides of 
the Atlantic, although as yet but dimly realised by the 
masses. In The Problem of Asia he states that he has 
been " assured, by an authority, in which he entirely 
trusts, that to a proposition made to Great Britain (at 
the time of the Spanish-American War) to enter into a 
combination to constrain the use of our power — as Japan 
was five years ago constrained by the joint action of 
Russia, France, and Germany — the reply was not only a 
refusal to enter into such combination, but an assurance 
of active resistance to it, if attempted." ^ 

In The Fighting Fleets, Ralph Paine says : 

" Admiral Wemyss resembles Vice- Admiral Sims in 
the ability to inspire devoted service. Both are men 
of action with long and varied experience in ships at sea, 
and both can play the courtier and diplomat when occa- 
sion requires. When it comes to discussing naval matters, 
the First Sea Lord speaks straight from the shoulder, 
with an abrupt and convincing sincerity. 

" ' Tell them when you go home that your Navy is 
first-class,' he said to me. ' We like your people im- 
mensely. I hear it from our Admirals and other officers. 
There is nothing to be gained by flattery or empty 
compliments. We are in it together to the finish. And 
our fleets must work in harmony after this beastly war 
is over, or God help the civilisation we are fighting 
to save. To my mind we can't afford to misunder- 
stand each other. All that rubbish should be swept 
aside.' " 

Mahan rejoiced in the unmistakable growth of mutual 
kindly feelings between Great Britain and the United 
States during these latter years, and in the following 

1 At Manila the name of Chichester became another imperishable 
link between the Navies of the two countries. In The New United 
States Navy Mr. Long records that Admiral Dewey used British charts 
to guide the American warships through the difficult passage of Manila 
Bay. 



224 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

words gave proof of his realisation of the strength of 
sentiment in the adjustment of international affairs : 

" As a matter of sentiment only, this reviving affec- 
tion well might fix the serious attention of those who 
watch the growth of world questions, recognising how 
far imagination and sympathy rule the world ; but 
when, besides the powerful sentimental impulse, it is 
remembered that beneath considerable differences of 
political form there lie a common inherited political 
tradition and habit of thought, that the moral forces 
which govern and shape political development are the 
same in either people, the possibility of a gradual 
approach to concerted action becomes increasingly 
striking." 

With comprehensive vision the ever-welcome heir to 
the British Throne has declared that only personal 
contact is needed to prevent misunderstanding between 
American democracy and our own, 

Mahan emphasised another factor which, in his opinion, 
must tend to incline the two nations towards a similar 
course of action in the future. In these words he ex- 
pounds a great and important truth : 

" Partners, each, in the great commonwealth of 
nations which share the blessings of European civilisa- 
tion, they alone, though in varying degrees, are so severed 
geographically from all existing rivals as to be exempt 
from the burden of great land armies ; while at the same 
time they must depend upon the sea, in chief measure, 
for that intercourse with other members of the body 
upon which national well-being depends." 

It is quite probable that had Mahan lived a few years 
longer he would, in view of the momentous changes 
brought about by the war, have concurred in the follow- 
ing pronouncement made by Mr. Theodore Roosevelt 
shortly before his death : 

" I regard the British Navy as probably the most 
potent instrumentality for peace in the world. I do 



ADMIRAL BEATTY 225 

not believe we should try to build a navy in rivalry to 
it, but I do believe we should have the second navy in 
the world. Moreover, I am now prepared to say what 
five years ago I would not have said. I think the time 
has come when the United States aiid the British Empire 
can agree to a universal arbitration treaty. In other 
words, I believe that the time has come when we should 
say that under no circumstances shall there ever be a 
resort to war between the United States and the British 
Empire, and that no question can ever arise between 
them that cannot be settled in judicial fashion, in some 
such manner as questions between States of our own 
Union would be settled." 



It would be difficult to over-estimate the extent to 
which the active co-operation of the British and 
American naval forces as an accomplished fact con- 
tributed towards the enemy's decision to capitulate in 
1918. In the following letter Admiral Earl Beatty 
bears witness to the consummation of the hopes enter- 
tained by Mahan, that reunion would some day be 
brought about by the two nations fighting side by side 
in a common cause : 

" H.M.S. ' Queen Elizabeth,' 

" July 12, 1918. 

" Dear Sir, 

" I am interested to hear that you are preparing 
a biography of Admiral Mahan, the great naval his- 
torian of our time. It is opportune that this tribute to 
his memory should appear at a moment when the Navies 
of Great Britain and the United States are working 
in the closest harmony for ideals common to both 
nations. 

" The works of Admiral Mahan gained immediate and 
world-wide recognition and have had a profound influ- 
ence. His teachings are of special consequence to the 
British nation, since the very existence of our Empire 
must depend in the future, as in the past, on a right 



226 ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS [chap, xxi 

understanding of the paramount importance of Sea 
Power. 

"I am, yours faithfully, 

" David Beatty, 

" Admiral. 
" C. Carlisle Taylor, Esq." 

Reading between the lines of Mahan's private cor- 
respondence, the impression may be gained that those 
on both sides of the Atlantic who have the interests of 
the two great English-speaking democracies at heart 
may take courage in the fact that the shrewd common- 
sense of the silent but amicably disposed nine-tenths of 
the citizens of the United States will always be sufficient 
to more than offset the noisy agitation of the disaffected 
one-tenth. 

The late United States Ambassador to Great Britain, 
Mr. Walter Hines Page, spoke for the people of America 
in these memorable words : 

" The Sea which separates us becomes smaller as our 
understanding of each other becomes closer. Our striv- 
ing together to the utmost for the thing dearest to us 
both will have the inevitable result of making us brothers 
for life." 

The good work of the Pilgrims Society and the many 
similar associations for uniting the English-speaking 
peoples is already bearing fruit, and the old stupid, moss- 
grown prejudices are gradually giving place to enlight- 
ened appreciation and esteem. Please God, the repre- 
sentative custodians of the happiness and welfare of the 
peoples of these two dominant nations may in the 
stimulating sunlight of a hard-won victory over des- 
potism meet each other midway on the broad ocean 
of sympathy and tolerance, the inevitable offspring of 
sound common-sense and the mutual desire to learn of 
one another, and may thus ensure to humanity for all 
time the priceless gifts of liberty and peace. 



INEVITABLE ALLIES 227 

Mahan not only taught the wisdom of promoting 
cordial relations between the people of the United States 
and Great Britain, but he enforced the lesson that those 
who do aught by word or deed to estrange these two 
natural allies are out of touch with the intelligence of 
the hour and constitute themselves the active enemies 
of human progress. 



16 



CHAPTER XXII 

mahan's message to his countrymen 

" It is impossible that one who sees in the sea — in the function which 
it discharges towards the world at large — the most potent factor in 
national prosperity and in the course of history, should not desire 
a change in the mental attitude of our coiintrymen towards maritime 
affairs. The subject presents itself not merely as one of national 
importance, but as one concerning the world's history and the welfare 
of mankind, which are bound up, so far as we can see, in the security 
and strength of that civilisation which is identified with Europe and 
its offshoots in America." — A. T. Mahan. 

Mahan's writings seem to say to his fellow- Americans, 
" Read history ; study international questions ; acquire 
true historical perspective ; learn to realise and appre- 
ciate the supreme importance of the sea ; insist upon a 
Navy commensurate with the ever-growing responsi- 
bilities of the United States ; cultivate friendly relations 
with Great Britain." 

When a national mental condition exists which calls 
for earnest exhortation on the part of a highly qualified 
and friendly critic, there must always co-exist some 
fundamental cause for the prevalence of such a state of 
mind. In the case of the people of the United States, 
the source of the indifference towards matters con- 
nected with the sea — which unconcern Mahan strove so 
fervently to dispel — might be summed up in the words 
unlimited local markets. When Emerson defined 
America as God's last chance to save the world he spoke 
no doubt in the spiritual sense. As such America has 
not yet fulfilled that destiny ; but in a material sense, 
how true ! That which rendered possible America's 
gigantic contributions to help make the world safe for 
democracy was money ; vast accumulations arising 
from the inexhaustible national resources in precious 
metals, oil, coal, cotton, and farm produce which mother- 

228 



BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITY 229 

earth has poured into the laps of the fortunate people of 
this vast continent — of recent years at the almost in- 
credible rate of twenty thousand million dollars every 
twelve months— and of which they have not failed to 
take advantage. This immense and never-failing stream 
of new wealth has gradually created new markets of a 
capacity hitherto unknown in the world's history : 
markets which alone have made possible the conditions 
responsible for the success and prosperity of America's 
industrious sons and daughters ; markets which are 
the source and foundation of the crowning gift of 
America, boundless opportunity^ which not only attracts 
millions to her shores, but is enhanced a thousand-fold 
by the invigorating atmosphere with which nature has 
blessed this highly favoured land. 

It can readily be imagined that in such a huge con- 
tinent as that of America, the average citizen, who has 
never seen the sea and seldom hears of it, and who finds 
the markets of his own and forty other conveniently 
adjacent States more than he can well supply, is little 
likely to turn his thoughts towards maritime affairs 
and foreign marts. The necessities of Europe during 
the war revolutionised this condition of affairs, and 
America, with eyes turned towards the sea, became the 
colossal exporter and owner of ships. 

Sometimes a concrete illustration is more illuminative 
than pages of explanation. Here is a letter which, read 
between the lines, is eloquent of the unfamiliarity with 
maritime affairs which obtained a few years ago, even 
among those in high places : 



" ' The Outlook,' 

" 287, Fourth Avenue, 
" New York, 

''June 27, 1911. 

" My dear Captain Mahan, 

" You are entirely right. The flying squadron 
was looked upon with hysterical anxiety by the North- 



230 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

east and its representatives in Congress as a protection 
against a Spanish attack ! If you can get in to see me, or 
motor over to take lunch with me at Oyster Bay, I should 
really like to tell you about some of the requests made 
to me for ships to protect Portland, Maine, Jekyl Island, 
Narragansett Pier, and other points of like vast strategic 
importance ! Hale and Tom Reed actually made the 
President say that he would send a ship to Portland. 
I arranged to send them a Civil War monitor with 
twenty-one New Jersey Naval Militia aboard, which 
satisfied Portland entirely I It would have been useless 
against any war vessel more modern than one of 
Hamilkar's galleys. 

" Yours very sincerely, 

" Theodore Roosevelt." 
" Captain A. T. Mahan, 
" Marshmere, 

" Quogue, L.I." 

It was a many-sided message that Mahan bequeathed 
to his countrymen. He taught that as world-conditions 
change, national policies must be correspondingly 
adjusted. A principle of international policy which was 
appropriate in 1800 may well be useless or injurious in 
1900. The incidents of four years of war have done more 
to vindicate his contentions than a century of peace. In 
speaking of a possible future world-wide conflict he said : 

" In this same pregnant strife the United States 
doubtless will be led, by undeniable interests and aroused 
national sympathies, to play a part, to cast aside the 
policy of isolation which befitted her infancy, and to 
recognise that, whereas once to avoid European en- 
tanglements was essential to the development of her 
individuality, now to take her share of the travail of 
Europe is but to assume an inevitable task, an appointed 
lot, in the work of upholding the common interests of 
civilisation." ^^^ 

With relentless logic he demonstrated that the day 
has now come when the United States must accept the 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 231 

responsibilities of her great and unique position and 
take her rightful place among the nations of the earth. 
He eloquently entreated his countrymen to look out-__ 
wards and to build an adequate; navy "and merchant 
marine, and thereby recover their fair share in the power 
and emoluments which the sea alone can yield. 

Mahan's writings abound in the recital of historic 
events which appeal for intelligent and impartial re- 
adjustment of perspective on the part of his country- 
men in connection with the history of their beloved 
land. These lessons involved the telling of some very 
plain truths, a few possibly not altogether acceptable to 
time-honoured conceptions of various incidents of 
American history as taught in the schools or handed 
down by tradition. Mahan's historical narrative is so 
accurate and so conclusive that it could hardly fail 
to furnish some adjustment of popular impressions, or to 
emphasise the significance of many recorded facts to which 
little or no importance has commonly been attached 
in the minds of the general public in America. 

To mention but two as illustrative of the many to be 
found within his pages. He records that, contrary to 
the generally accepted idea, the determining military 
factor in the War of Independence — as distinct from the 
moral influence of Washington's superb character — was 
the French Navy. He explains that the surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown was brought about by the 
blockade maintained by the French Admiral de Grasse, 
and made possible by the superior strength of the Spanish 
and French Fleets over that of England. He further 
reminds his readers that Washington fully realised this, 
and openly acknowledged it in his letters to Lafayette 
and Rochambeau, some of which he quotes and of 
which these extracts are examples : 

" In any operation, and under all circumstances, a 
decisive naval superiority is to be considered as a 



232 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

fundamental principle, and the basis upon which every 
hope of success must ultimately depend." 

" You will have observed that, whatever efforts are 
made by the land armies, the Navy must have the casting 
vote in the present contest." 

" If France delays a timely and powerful aid in the 
critical posture of our affairs, it will avail us nothing, 
should she attempt it hereafter. Why need I run into 
detail, when it may be declared in a word that we are at 
the end of our tether, and that now or never our deliver- 
ance must come." 



Mahan recounts that this blockade was the only 
instance in which de Grasse conducted any notably 
successful operation at sea. Cornwallis surrendered on 
October 19, 1781. The very day before, October 18, 
British naval forces, after a fatal delay, were ready to 
sail to his relief, but he had capitulated before they 
could reach the scene of action. Mahan says : 

" Having regard to the character of de Grasse, it is 
reasonable to believe that, if he had found the British 
Fleet thus drawn up at anchor in Chesapeake Bay, as he 
found Hood at St. Kitts in the following January, he 
would have waited off the entrance for de Barras, and 
then have gone to sea, leaving Washington and 
Rochambeau to look at Cornwallis slipping out of their 
grasp." 

Mahan sums up the situation in these words : 

" During the four years that followed, until the sur- 
render of Yorktown, the scales rose and fell as the one 
navy or the other appeared on the scene, or as English 
commanders kept touch with the sea or pushed their 
operations far from its support. Finally, at the great 
crisis, all is found depending upon the question whether 
the French or the English Fleet should first appear, and 
upon their relative force. 

'* Will it be too much for American pride to admit 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 233 

that, had France refused to contest the control of the sea 
with England, the latter would have been able to reduce 
the Atlantic seaboard ? Let us not kick down the ladder 
by which we mounted, nor refuse to acknowledge what 
our fathers felt in their hour of trial. 

" The defeat of Graves and subsequent surrender of 
Cornwallis did not end the naval operations in the 
Western hemisphere. On the contrary, one of the most 
interesting tactical feats and the most brilliant victory 
of the whole war were yet to grace the English flag in 
the West Indies ^ ; but with the events at Yorktown 
the patriotic interest for Americans closes.^ Before 
quitting that struggle for independence it must again be 
affirmed that its successful ending, at least at so early 
a date, was due to the control of the sea — to sea power 
in the hands of the French and its improper distribution 
by the English authorities." 

As touching the political motive of the French Govern- 
ment of that day, Mahan frankly lays before his country- 
men the historical fact that France lent her aid rather 
from a desire to injure England than out of sympathy 
for the Colonists ; that both Spain and France had as 
their objective the crippling of England and the acquisi- 
tion of territory in the Mediterranean and in the East 
and West Indies. In this their hopes were doomed to 
failure, for within a few months of the surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown the British Navy won the great 
victory over the French which resulted in the capture 
of de Grasse, who had promised Washington naval sup- 
port in the following year's campaign ; and England 
emerged from the contest strong enough to record 
within a few years the glorious achievements of which 
Nelson and the younger Pitt were the master-spirits. 

1 Known as the " Battle of the Saints," De Grasse was captured, 
and upon his release retxirned to France, where he was court-martialled 
and retired from active service. — C. C. T. 

2 Washington did not by any means regard the struggle as ended 
See his letters to Lafayette and de Grasse. — C. C. T. 



234 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

The following passage in From Sail to Steam sums up 
Mahan's estimate of the younger Pitt : 

" Pitt was not a general nor an admiral, nor does he 
appear so to have considered himself; but he realised 
perfectly where Great Britain's strength lay, and where 
the sphere of her efforts. By that understanding he 
guided her movements ; and, in the final triumph, 
wrought by the spirit of the British nation over the 
spirit of the French Revolution, the greatest share can- 
not justly be denied to the chief who, in the long 
struggle against wind and tide, forced often to swerve 
from the direct course he would have followed by un- 
foreseen dangers that arose around the ship in her 
passage through unknown seas, never forgot the goal, 
' security,' upon which from the first his will was set. 
Fit, indeed, it was that he should drop at his post 
just when Trafalgar had been won and Austerlitz lost. 
That striking contrast of substantial and, in fact, 
decisive success, with bewildering but evanescent 
disaster, symbolised well his troubled career as it super- 
ficially appears. 

" As the helm escaped his dying hands, all seemed 
lost, but in truth the worst was passed — ' the pilot had 
weathered the storm.' " 

A second illustration concerns the War of 1812, of 
which Mahan records that — 

" Owing to the vast inferiority of American naval 
strength,the completeness of the blockade of the American 
coasts produced an exhaustion of means in the midst of 
plenty, a financial catastrophe which compelled peace 
without obtaining the formal concession of any one of 
the points for which the nation went to war." 

And he thus summarises the ineffectiveness of single 
ship combats : 

" The War of 1812 demonstrated the usefulness of a 
Navy, not, indeed, by the admirable but utterly un- 
availing single-ship victories that illustrated its course. 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 235 

but by the prostration into which our seaboard and 
external communications fell, through the lack of a Navy 
at all proportionate to the country's needs and exposure. 
The Navy doubtless reaped honor in that brilliant sea- 
struggle, but the honor was its own alone ; only dis- 
credit accrued to the statesmen who, with such men to 
serve them, none the less left the country open to the 
humiliation of its harried coasts and blasted commerce. 
Never was there a more lustrous example of what Jomini 
calls ' the sterile glory of fighting battles merely to win 
them.' Except for the prestige which at last awoke the 
country to the high efficiency of the petty force we called 
our Navy, and showed what the sea might be to us, never 
was blood spilled more uselessly than in the frigate and 
sloop actions of that day.^ They presented no analogy 
to the outpost and reconnaissance fighting, to the 
detached services, that are not only inevitable, but in- 
valuable in maintaining the moral of a military organisa- 
tion in campaign. They were simply scattered efforts, 
without relation either to one another or to any main 
body whatsoever, capable of affecting seriously the issues 

1 " The lesson of the War of 1812 should be learned by Englislimen 
of the present day, when a long naval peace has generated a confidence 
in numerical superiority, in the mere possession of heavier materiel, 
and in the merits of a rigidly uniform system of training, such confi- 
dence, as experience has shown, being often the forerunner of mis- 
fortune. It is neither patriotic nor intelligent to minimise the American 
successes. Certainly they have been exaggerated by the Americans, 
and even by the British. To take the frigate actions alone as being 
those which properly attracted most attention, the captures in action 
amounted to three on each side, the proportionate loss to the Americans, 
considering the smallness of their fleet, being immensely greater than 
to the British. We also see that no British frigate was taken after 
the first seven months of a war which lasted two and a half years. 
Attempts have been made to spread a belief that British reverses 
were due to nothing but the greater size and heavier gvins of the enemy's 
ships. It is now established that the superiority in these details, 
which the Americans certainly enjoyed, was not great and not of itself 
enough to account for these victories. In the words of Admiral Jurien 
de la Graviere : ' The ships of the United States constantly fought 
with the chances in their favour.' All this is indisputable. Never- 
theless in any future war British sea power, great as it may be, should 
not receive shocks like those that it unquestionably did suffer in 1812." 
— Admiral Sib Cyprian Bridge, Enoyclopcedia Britannica, vol. xxiv. 



236 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

of war, or, indeed, to any plan of operations worthy of 
the name." 



In the chapters on Freedom of the Seas and Peace 
Views will be found messages of profound and far- 
reaching significance to the people of the United States. 
In From Sail to Steam Mahan said : 

" It involves getting rid of old ideas, which is quite 
as bad as pulling teeth, and much harder ; and the 
subsequent adoption of new ones, that are as uneasy as 
tight shoes. We had then certain accepted maxims, 
dating mainly from 1812, which were as thoroughly 
current in the country — and I fear in the Navy, too — 
as the ' dollar of the daddies ' was not long after. One was 
that commerce destroying was the great efficient weapon 
of naval warfare. Everybody — the Navy as well — 
believed we had beaten Great Britain in 1812, brought 
her to her knees, by the destruction of her commerce 
through the system observed by us of single cruisers, 
naval or privateers. From that erroneous premise was 
deduced the conclusion of a Navy of cruisers, and small 
cruisers at that ; no battleship nor fleets. Then we 
wanted a Navy for coast defence only, no aggressive 
action in our pious souls , an amusing instance being 
that our first battleships were styled ' coast defence ' 
battleships, a nomenclature which probably facilitated 
the appropriations. They were that ; but they were 
capable of better things, as the event has proved." 

To this he appended the following footnote : 

" This is not the place for a discussion of commerce- 
destroying as a method of war ; but having myself given, 
as I believe, historical demonstration that as a sole or 
principal resource, maintained by scattered cruisers 
only, it is insufficient, I wish to warn public opinion 
against the reaction, the return swing of the pendulum, 
seen by me with dismay, which would make it of no use 
at all, and under the plea of immunity to ' private 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 237 

property,' so called, would exempt from attack the 
maritime commerce of belligerents." 

Such messages of his are clarion calls . for the exer- 
cise of true historic perspective and for intelligent up-to- 
date appreciation of modern naval conditions and 
requirements. 

Mahan's intimate knowledge and understanding of the 
broad lines of English policy enabled him to demonstrate 
to his countrymen that first judgments, based on incom- 
plete or incorrect information, are apt to be unjust to 
the old country, and that he is a prudent statesman who, 
refusing to judge by appearances or to be swayed by 
popular clamour, exhaustively investigates in the light 
of international law and precedent any action or motive 
of Great Britain before pronouncing judgment or taking 
action. A recent illustration occurs in the scholarly 
and impartial exposition of one of America's foremost 
authorities on international law, Dr. James Brown Scott, 
in his Survey of International Relations between the United 
States and Germany, August 1, 1914, to April 6, 1917. 
In a review of this remarkable work in the United States 
Naval Institute Proceedings, Professor H. C. Washburn, 
of the Naval Academy, in referring to the differences of 
opinion which not unnaturally arose between the British 
and American Governments in connection with various 
phases of the British naval blockade during the early 
stages of the war, says : 

" In view of policies put in force by the United States 
since its entry into the war, conflicts between American 
and British opinion, now seen in retrospect, with all the 
evidence and law reviewed, give two clear impressions, 
that in every important discussion the British Govern- 
ment found decisions of the United States Supreme 
Court to warrant the principles if not the details of inter- 
national law upon which Great Britain has acted. 

" In justice to both the British and the American 
Governments, it should now be realised that the former 



238 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

was, under the circumstances, more than fair in its 
appHcation of principles, that the latter was more than 
strict, and that the concrete result was a situation lasting 
over two years which tended to injure the rightful in- 
terests of Great Britain, and also to increase the burden 
of war, to which the United States later became 
committed. 

" If there is anything for Americans to regret in the 
whole record, it is the cases in which our Government 
made strong objection to British policies which we have 
since not only carried out ourselves, but exceeded in 
practical completeness." 

In this comprehensive summary Mahan gives us one 
of his characteristic examples of historical perspective : 

" To the citizen of the United States, the war whose 
results were summed up and sealed in the Treaty of 
Versailles is a landmark of history surpassing all others 
in interest and importance. His sympathies are stirred 
by the sufferings of the many, his pride animated by the 
noble constancy of the few whose names will be for ever 
identified with the birth-throes of his country. Yet in 
a less degree this feeling may well be shared by a native 
of Western Europe, though he have not the same vivid 
impression of the strife, which, in so distant a land and 
on so small a scale, brought a new nation to life. This 
indeed was the great outcome of the war ; but in its 
progress, Europe, India, and the Sea had been the 
scenes of deeds of arms far more dazzling and at times 
much nearer home than the obscure contest in America. 
In dramatic effect nothing has exceeded the three-years 
siege of Gibraltar, teeming as it did with exciting interest, 
fluctuating hopes and fears, triumphant expectation and 
bitter disappointment. England from her shores saw 
gathered in the Channel sixty-six French and Spanish 
ships-of-the-line— a force larger than had ever threat- 
ened her since the days of the Great Armada, and before 
which her inferior numbers had to fly, for the first time, 
to the shelter of her ports. Rodney and Suffren had 
conducted sea-campaigns, fought sea-fights, and won 
sea-victories which stirred beyond the common the 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 239 

hearts of men in their day, and which still stand con- 
spicuous in the story of either Navy. In one respect 
above all this war was distinguished — in the develop- 
ment, on both sides, of naval power. Never since the 
Peace of Versailles to our own day has there been such an 
approach to equality between the parties to a sea- war." 

In an article for a boys' magazine Mahan relates in the 
simple language of personal narrative the following 
incident, which has a human touch, and aptly reflects 
the conciliatory nature of the relations which may exist 
between honourable commanders of opposing armies 
even in such a momentous struggle : 

" Ten years after the surrender of Yorktown, when 
George Washington was the first President of the United 
States, a young English gentleman sailed from Calcutta, 
in India, of which Cornwallis was then Governor-General 
—much the same as President. He was going to 
Philadelphia, and Cornwallis, to whom he was known, 
gave him a letter to President Washington, at the same 
time charging him to say how highly he esteemed him 
and his character. The young Englishman accordingly 
called on Washington, who was living in Market Street, 
Philadelphia ; Philadelphia being then the seat of 
Government of the United States, as the city of 
Washington now is. The President came in with his 
wife, and when the visitor delivered his message replied 
that he also had a great admiration for Lord Cornwallis. 
This incident of two ancient antagonists exchanging 
personal compliments and kindly appreciation, from 
such opposite quarters of the globe as New York and 
Calcutta, is a pleasant conclusion to the story of the 
surrender ; which to one was a memorable triumph and 
to the other the great misfortune of a distinguished 
career." 

In imparting to his countrymen in so impressive a 
manner the fruits of his exhaustive investigation of the 
early history of the United States, Mahan called atten- 
tion to the prejudicial character of the versions upon 



240 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

which young America is wont to be fed. No Httle pro- 
gress has already been made in revising American school 
books, but much remains to be done, and no task can be 
undertaken that is of such paramount importance to 
the promotion of friendly relations between America 
and Britain in days to come.^ 

The following obituary notice from the New York 
Press appreciatively epitomises Mahan's chief message 
to his countrymen : 

" Admiral Mahan was never more needed by his 
country than when he died yesterday. Always a deep 
student of naval strategy and for years a world authority 
on sea power, his illuminations of the lessons to be drawn 
from the great war in Europe, had he lived beyond its 
end, would have been for the American people priceless. 

"As it was. Admiral Mahan lived through enough 
days of this unparalleled conflict to see his judgment 
perfectly vindicated as to England's recompense for 
maintaining through the generations superlative war 
fleets giving her the command of all the ocean. 

" It has come to pass, as he always held it must, that, 
with the Old World convulsed by war, races plunged 
into slaughter and countries given over to devastation, 
Britons, guarded by their floating fortresses, live at 
home as securely and traffic with the world as freely in 
war as in peace. 

" No man ever gave Englishmen a deeper realisation 
of the destiny held for them in fleets invincible than this 
simple, modest American, with his vision of genius, 
lucidity of thought, and eloquence of words. 

" But what he taught Englishmen as to their sea 
power, he strove to make as clear and inspiring a lesson 
to his own Americans. With the war storming over the 
Old World, his countrymen are awakening to the truths 
that he told them many times and over again. With 
his life gone, but his shining memory remaining, they 

1 According to Mr. Charles Altschul's published analysis, a majority 
of the elementary schools of America stiU make use of history text- 
books which create deplorably unjust impressions of Great Britain 
and sow seeds of bitterness and suspicion in the young. 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 241 

may act upon those truths, as England was ever doing, 
to her safety and honor now. 

" And let no American ever forget the text he gave 
us upon our Monroe Doctrine, so cherished by the people 
of the United States— that this great principle, impera- 
tive to the safety and welfare of all the nations of the 
New World, shall always be as strong as the sea power 
of the United States, ready to enforce it, but must be 
as weak as that sea power unprepared, not one whit 
more, not one whit less." 

An especially impressive lesson — or rather series of 
lessons, historical, strategical, and topographical — is con- 
veyed by the following commentary on the influence of 
sea power in the American Civil War : 

" As regards the development of sea power, it is not 
the total number of square miles which a country con- 
tains, but the length of its coast-line and the character 
of its harbors that are to be considered. As to these, 
it is to be said that, the geographical and physical condi- 
tions being the same, extent of sea-coast is a source of 
strength or weakness according as the population is 
large or small. A country is in this like a fortress ; the 
garrison must be proportioned to the enceinte. A 
recent familiar instance is found in the American War of 
Secession. Had the South had a people as numerous 
as it was warlike, and a Navy commensurate to its other 
resources as a sea power, the great extent of its sea- 
coast and its numerous inlets would have been elements 
of great strength. The people of the United States and 
the Government of that day justly prided themselves 
on the effectiveness of the blockade of the whole Southern 
coast. It was a great feat, a very great feat ; but it 
would have been an impossible feat had the Southerners 
been more numerous, and a nation of seamen. What 
was there shown was not, as has been said, how such 
a blockade can be maintained, but that such a blockade 
is possible in the face of a population not only unused 
to the sea, but also scanty in numbers. Those who 
recall how the blockade was maintained, and the class of 
ships that blockaded during great part of the war, know 



242 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

that the plan, correct under the circumstances, could not 
have been carried out in the face of a real Navy. Scat- 
tered unsupported along the coast, the United States 
ships kept their places, singly or in small detachments, 
in face of an extensive network of inland water com- 
munications which favored secret concentration of the 
enemy. Behind the first line of water communications 
were long estuaries, and here and there strong fortresses, 
upon either of which the enemy's ships could always fall 
back to elude pursuit or to receive protection. Had 
there been a Southern Navy to profit by such advantage, 
or by the scattered condition of the United States ships, 
the latter could not have been distributed as they were ; 
and being forced to concentrate for mutual support, 
many small but useful approaches would have been left 
open to commerce. But as the Southern coast, from its 
extent and many inlets, might have been a source of 
strength, so, from those very characteristics, it became 
a fruitful source of injury. The great story of the 
opening of the Mississippi is but the most striking 
illustration of an action that was going on incessantly 
all over the South. At every breach of the sea frontier, 
war-ships were entering. The streams that had carried 
the wealth and supported the trade of the seceding 
States turned against them, and admitted their enemies 
to their hearts. Dismay, insecurity, paralysis, prevailed 
in regions that might, under happier auspices, have kept 
a nation alive through the most exhausting war. Never 
did sea power play a greater or a more decisive part than 
in the contest which determined that the course of the 
world's history would be modified by the existence of 
one great nation, instead of several rival States, in the 
North American continent. But while just pride is 
felt in the well-earned glory of those days, and the 
greatness of the results due to naval preponderance is 
admitted, Americans who understand the facts should 
never fail to remind the over-confidence of their country- 
men that the South not only had no Navy, not only was 
not a seafaring people, but that also its population was 
not proportioned to the extent of the sea-coast which 
it had to defend." ^ 

^ Influence of Sea Power upon History, p. 43. 



TO HIS COUNTRYMEN 243 

The epitome of Mahan's innumerable messages to his 
countrymen on the necessity for an adequate Navy is 
aptly reflected in his pronouncement that " every dangei;^. 
of a military character to which the United States is 
exposed can be met best outside her own territory — at 
sea. Preparedness for naval war — preparedness against 
naval attack and for naval offence — is preparedness for 
anything that is likely to occur." He declared himself 
emphatically in favour of a Navy " second to none but 
that of Great Britain, to rival which is inexpedient, 
because for many reasons unnecessary." 

He was eager for active preparedness. He was 
earnestly desirous that his countrymen should realise 
how indispensable to the national welfare was the 
immediate execution of well-considered measures for 
naval defence. This volume will not have been written 
in vain if it does nothing more than incite some of 
Mahan's fellow-countrymen, who have not already done 
so, to read the wondrous messages he sent them. In 
the words of Theodore Roosevelt, his masterpieces 
" should be studied with especial care by all Americans 
who desire to know what the real interest of their country 
demands in the way of thought and action from her 
sons and daughters." 

In a letter to Mrs. Mahan, Mr. Henry White, one of 
the United States delegates to the Peace Conference in 
Paris, paid this tribute to his friend : 

" Admiral Mahan's death is a great shock and a real 
sorrow to me. Not only had I a great admiration for 
his character and ability, but I have always felt grateful 
to him for the inestimable services which he has rendered 
to our country through his wonderful books. And, 
moreover, I was sincerely attached to him personally 
and delighted in exchanging views with him and obtain- 
ing the benefit of his wise counsel on public affairs. 

"It is a cruel disappointment to me to feel that I 
shall not now be able to enjoy the many talks with him 
17 



244 MAHAN'S MESSAGE [chap, xxii 

to which I was greatly looking forward this winter, and 
that I shall never again hear the sound of his sym- 
pathetic voice." 

Mahan's life teaches us all a great lesson. He did not 
avail himself of the lucrative opportunities of business 
or politics or one of the learned professions. He en- 
joyed none of the advantages of capital or influence. 
He was not as a youth subjected to that early appren- 
ticeship in the school of money-making which the 
younger generation is apt to regard as essential to 
success in life. He was modest and reserved and un- 
assuming. He lacked those traits of aggressive smartness 
which are usually associated with worldly advance- 
ment. Financially he made no more than a competency. 
Yet he reached the topmost rung in the ladder of inter- 
national fame and became one of the most eminent 
Americans of his day and generation. He achieved 
things really worth while, and won the admiration of the 
best minds in all countries. He was a public benefactor, 
and rendered not only to his own countrymen, but to all 
humanity, a service so immense that it can never be 
repaid. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

LITERARY TRAITS 

" I not only immensely admired the Admiral, but regarded him as 
one of the greatest and most useful influences in American life. He 
was one of those few men who leave a permanent mark on history 
and literature, aside from their profound and far-reaching influence 
on contemporary thought. He was a great man and a very good 
man and good citizen." — Thkodoee Roosevelt. 

Analysis of his chief works would seem to suggest 
kicidity and accuracy as the two predominating charac- 
teristics of Mahan's style. A desire to be accurate in 
facts and conclusions was the besetting anxiety of his 
soul, and he was nervously susceptible of being con- 
victed of a mistake. It would not be an exaggeration 
to say that there is hardly a sentence of any moment 
in his principal works which has not been the subject of 
consideration, and of revision, until the best possible con- 
struction of which he was capable, and the most appro- 
priate language he could command were assured. 

He believed in Samuel Johnson's advice, diligently 
to set down thoughts as they arise in the first words in 
which they occur, and later to formulate and embellish 
as required. He has left on record these inspiring and 
reassuring words : 

" I got much comfort from Darwin's complaint of 
frequent recurrences of inability to give adequate expres- 
sion to thoughts, which he could then put down only in 
such crude, imperfect form as the moment suggested, 
leaving the task of elaboration to a more propitious 
season. If so great a man was thus troubled, no strange 

245 



246 LITERARY TRAITS [chap, xxiii 

thing was happening to me in a like experience. Such 
good cheer in intellectual as well as moral effort is one 
of the best services of biography and history, raising to 
the rank of ministering spirits the men whose struggles 
and success they tell." 

Mahan did not consciously imitate the style of other 
writers,* although he frankly admits to unrestrained 
plagiarism of apt expressions. A curious sidelight is 
thrown upon his early literary prepossessions by the 
fact that he had to force himself to read Shakespeare 
before he eventually succumbed to the irresistible charm 
of that matchless mind. Another proof of the possession 
of that fund of common sense which so often happily 
intervened to rescue him from the narrowing influences 
of his younger days. 

He no doubt owed much of the clearness of his style 
to a natural and hearty agreement with Robert Louis 
Stevenson's opinion that everything depends upon the 
order of the words, and that the sentence should be like 
a legal statute, as nearly as possible independent of 
punctuation. He was intensely averse to reading any- 
thing he could not readily understand, and this no doubt 
added strength to his obsession for uninvolved writing, 
which may have justified in a measure an occasional 

1 "As I progressed, I worked out a theory for myself, just as I 
had the theory of the influence of sea power. Style, I said, has two 
sides. It is first and above all the expression of a man's personality, 
as characteristic as any other trait ; or, as some one has said — was 
it Buffon ? — style is the man himself. From this point of view it is 
susceptible of training, of development, or of pruning ; but to attempt 
to jjattern it on that of another person is a mistake. For one chance 
of success there are a dozen of failure ; for you are trying to raise a 
special product from a soil probably uncongenial, or a fruit from an 
alien stem — figs from vines. But beyond this there is to style an 
artificial element, which I conceive to be indicated by the word tech- 
nique as applied to the arts ; though it is possible that I misapprehend 
the term, being ignorant of art. In authorship I understand by 
technique mainly the correct construction of periods by the proper 
collocation of their parts." — From Sail to Steam. 



NEOLOGY 247 

criticism for diffuseness to which portions of his writings 
have been subjected. As he says himself : 

"It is to this anxiety for full and accurate develop- 
ment of statements and ideas that I chiefly attribute a 
diffuseness with which my writing has been reproached ; 
I have no doubt justly. I have not however tried to 
check the evil at the root. I am built that way, and 
think that way ; all around a subject, as far as I can see 
it. I am uneasy if a presentment err by defect, by 
excess, or by obscurity apparent to myself. I must get 
the whole in, and for due emphasis am very probably 
redundant. I am not willing to attempt seriously modi- 
fying my natural style, the reflection of myself, lest, 
while digging up the tares of prolixity, I root up also the 
wheat of precision." 

He exercised the privilege of an author to coin and 
resuscitate words, and among others he has contributed 
manywhere, eventless, and forbiddal ; and has made use 
of thitherto, desperateness, ex-centric, immediateness, dis- 
admire and selfsufficingness. He admitted an abhor- 
rence of the split infinitive : this as a matter of taste, as 
he confessed to a temptation to snuggle the adverb close 
to the verb. Some authors appear indifferent to the 
repetition of the same word in the same paragraph, but 
Mahan was not of their number. 

His plan was to write for several hours in the morning. 
He did not write in the afternoon nor in the evening. 
The hours after the mid-day meal were devoted to 
reading, to exercise, and to his family. His habit of 
carefully conserving his note -books makes it possible to 
record that he wrote a good hand, and that what he put 
down was legible, which greatly lessened the task of 
Mrs. Mahan, who transcribed his MSS. into typewriting, 
in which form they were submitted to the publishers. 

His correspondence, note-books, and MSS. also show 
him to have been a remarkably easy, prolific, and fluent 
writer. During his absences abroad he would write 



248 LITERARY TRAITS [chap, xxin 

interesting and descriptive letters, not only to Mrs. 
Mahan, but to both his daughters and to his son, record- 
ing his doings and his impressions of the people he met 
and the places he visited. Extracts from some of these 
letters are quoted in other parts of this work. On the 
literary side the correspondence shows him to have been 
an admirer of good poetry, having a partiality for William 
Sharp's Sofinets of this Century ; his favourites being 
Matthew Arnold's " East London " and Herbert 
Clarke's " The Assignation." He expresses a horror of 
Zola's works, and asks his daughter not to read any 
of them. He constantly refers to Boswell's Johnson^ 
which he evidently enjoyed immensely. The following 
extract from one of his letters quaintly reveals his 
natural diffidence and his well-bred self-possession in 
society : 

" As regards embarrassment, I have never seemed to 
realise, even with the Queen, that I was speaking to 
other than a lady who was entitled to certain forms of 
respect. All that kind of self-possession seems so un- 
natural to me that I don't understand it ; for I think 
you know I inherit father's disposition to withdraw into 
the background — and indeed I do so. I think the 
British flunkey comes much nearer overwhelming me 
than the biggest lord in the puddle. The look of calm 
surprise that can evolve from their faces, e.g. if you take 
a wrong direction, is extraordinary, and particularly 
as they effect it without moving a muscle or winking an 
eyelash. I own I think them the most formidable 
members of British Society." 

In another place he admits that shunning people had 
been the greatest error of his life. He tells his family 
of a complimentary allusion to him in O'Connor Morris's 
Life of Napoleon : 

"My friend O'Connor Morris in his last letter to me 
asked that I would read his Life of Napoleon and give 
him my candid opinion about it — a rather delicate 



HISTORICAL RESEARCH 249 

request. However, I bought the book — a dollar — and 
have nearly finished it, and happily can write a com- 
plimentary opinion. In the closing paragraph of the 
preface he gives me a send-off which I copy for your 
benefit : ' After these sheets had been corrected for the 
press, I have had an opportunity of reading the second 
part of Capt. Mahan's admirable work on Sea Power. 
I have made no changes in my text ; but it is gratifying 
to me to find that my views as regards Napoleon's pro- 
jects of a descent on England and the operations which 
ended at Trafalgar, and as regards the Continental 
System, coincide with those of a writer who is not only 
the first living authority on naval warfare, but also 
possesses remarkable political insight.' " 

In one letter, when he was well on in years, he com- 
plained that he had to some extent lost his old capacity 
for instantly and unerringly selecting the right word. 

His innumerable note -books of historical facts are 
written with the care and precision which characterise 
all his work. The stupendous character of his historical 
researches is disclosed in these tangible evidences of the 
years of study and application he devoted to them. 

Here. is a specimen of Mahan's genius for interpreting 
facts of history and setting them down in clear and con- 
vincing language. It is from The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History : 

" Matters had at last reached the crisis to which they 
had been tending for years. Louis XIV and William of 
Orange, long-standing enemies, and at the moment the 
two chief figures in European politics, alike for their 
strong personalities and the cause which either repre- 
sented, stood on the brink of great actions, whose effects 
were to be felt through many generations. William, 
despotic in temper himself, stood on the shores of 
Holland looking hopefully towards free England, from 
which he was separated by the narrow belt of water that 
was the defense of the island kingdom, and might yet be 
an impassable barrier to his own high aims, for the 



250 LITERARY TRAITS [chap, xxiii 

French King at that moment could control the sea if 
he would. Louis, holding all the power of France in 
his single grasp, facing eastward as before, saw the Con- 
tinent gathering against him ; while on his flank was 
England, heartily hostile, longing to enter on the strife 
against him, but as yet without a leader. It still 
remained with him to decide whether he would leave 
the road open for the head to join the waiting body, and 
to bring Holland and England, the two sea powers, under 
one rule. If he attacked Holland by land, and sent his 
superior Navy into the Channel, he might well keep 
William in his own country, the more so as the English 
Navy, beloved and petted by the King, was likely to have 
more than the usual loyalty of seamen to their chief. 
Faithful to the bias of his life, perhaps unable to free 
himself from it, he turned towards the Continent, and 
September 24, 1688, he declared war against Germany, 
and moved his armies towards the Rhine. William, 
overjoyed, saw removed the last obstacle to his 
ambition." 

What a masterful combination of condensed, un- 
affected, yet vigorous descriptive writing and rare in- 
sight into the lessons of history ! It was no doubt partly 
owing to an indefinable charm in his mode of literary 
treatment that Mahan was able to command one hundred 
and fifty dollars, and in some cases as much as five 
hundred dollars, for a single m.agazine article. 

As might be expected from his upbringing, Mahan was 
a purist in language. Even when he used a colloquialism 
he was wont to add " as they say," or some such half- 
apologetic qualification. He never condescended to 
slang of any sort, either in his speech or in his writings, 
and he was of those patriots who hope that as one of the 
happy results of the English and American comradeship 
in arms, the good American citizen will chase from the 
camp for all time the objectionable foreign mongrel yeah^ 
and insist upon the use of the genuine English word yes 
when the intention is to express assent. 



STYLE 251 

His style, for which he received unstinted praise from 
the critics, owed much to his upright character, his 
scrupulous honesty of purpose, his high sense of duty, 
and his deep regard for truth and accuracy. These 
characteristics shine forth in his pages from cover to 
cover, and go far to stamp his chief works as classics. 
Buff on could hardly have had a better illustration of the 
truth of his maxim that style " is the man himself," for 
style is an indefinable something for which the environ- 
ment of early youth is largely responsible, being in part 
an auditory inheritance from our parents' habitual 
mode of speech. Some of its attributes, like the tone 
of the voice, the look in the eyes, the expression of the 
mouth, are no doubt transmitted directly through the 
medium of that well-nigh invisible miracle for good 
and evil, the human germ cell ; and for much of the rest, 
character and the quality of the brain are together 
responsible. But speaking broadly, style is a gift. 

Mr. Austin Taylor, President of the Philomathic 
Society of Liverpool, has left this on record ; 

" The appearance of true literary genius is always 
something of a phenomenon, but when this genius 
happens to reside in a naval officer our wonder is pro- 
portionately increased. 

" When certain books appeared from the pen of Pierre 
Loti of a strangely tender sensibility, the evident pro- 
duct of a genius to whom the minor chords in nature 
powerfully appealed, curiosity was stimulated rather 
than satisfied by the discovery that their author was a 
young officer of the French Navy. It had never occurred 
to anyone that this profession could produce authors 
of the first literary genius. 

" Scarcely had the reading public recovered from this 
blow when it received from the Western hemisphere a 
similar shock. An historical genius suddenly disclosed 
himself who, treating of the minutiae of his own pro- 
fession with perfect accuracy, yet displayed at the same 
time a profound acquaintance with the issues which 
underlie national destiny. 



252 LITERARY TRAITS [cuap. xxni 

" It is not every day that the waves of the ocean cast 
up at our feet pearls of such exceeding price." 

A facsimile of Mahan's first literary effort is repro- 
duced in this chapter. He was seven years old at the 
time, and his comment on Jonah gives evidence of an 
early taste for analytical writing. His style shows 
some improvement in his next effort, which reflects the 
American boy's traditional love of noise. Here it is : 

"June 24, 1848. 

" Dear Mother, 

" I want you to bring me up some fireworks for 
fourth of July. viz. one triangle Romoneandles flower pots 
chasers spiningwheels rockets fireballs and firecrackers, 
you may get anything else that you please. The codets 

went into camp to-day. Tomy McD went down to 

New York today so that the little carriage you sent him 
we could not give him so Fredy plays with it. I want 
some sugarplums for Mamey and some firecrackers. I 
should be glad to hear how Uncle John and Anty jane 
and Anty Whity and Grandma are. Kiss grandma 
for me please. Your affectionate son 

" Alfred T. Mahan." 

He was eight years old when he presented these fiery 
demands. 

Half a century later, in a review of Mahan's Life of 
Nelson, The Spectator says : 

" This is a book which is so great — great in so many 
ways — that as one closes it one almost fears to review, 
lest one should be tempted to use language that will 
rather mar the effect which its own charm and its own 
power ought to exercise on the independent mind of 
every reader. What we should like to do is simply to 
convince everyone that they ought to read it for them- 
selves, with no fears that they will not be able to under- 
stand every line of it, and that they should then freely 
form their own judgment upon it. 

" That Captain Mahan is able to write of naval war- 



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MAHAN'S FIRST LEITEE, AGE 7. 



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EXPRESSIONS OF APPROVAL 253 

fare in such a style, and with such clearness as to make 
it easily intelligible to every landsman, is well-known 
to all those who have read his fascinating volumes on 
The Influence of Sea Power upon History-. 

" He has an almost Shakespearian tendency to drop 
as he goes along wise reflections, pithy sentences, gnomoe, 
many of which are, apart from their context, of almost 
universal application in the affairs of life. Often they 
are highly polished, always wholesome, and not in- 
frequently very weighty." 

Another point of view is expressed in an illustrated 
article by Francis W. Halsey in the Literary Supplement 
of The New York Times. It is well worth quoting. 
This is what he says ; 

" The most interesting thing about Captain Mahan's 
books is something which the books do not tell us — the 
answer to this question : How he, a naval officer, took 
to literature and acquitted himself in that field of action 
with so much honor. One fact we may assume : He 
has read great authors and learned to know what good 
historical writing consists of. If he has not spent his 
days and nights with Addison he has spent them with 
other masters of English. He has made no man's style 
his own, but he has conformed to certain fundamental 
qualities of which all good writing consists — clearness, 
personality, variety, charm. 

" Style unquestionably is the man, but a man may not 
have style in prose without education and experience ; 
he may not have it without knowing what it is, and he 
cannot master it until he has long practiced it. The 
question remains unanswered, except in so far as a 
partial answer is found in character. 

" In not a few cases the men have seemed greater 
than their works, their works only a partial manifesta- 
tion of their qualities. This remains true of Captain 
Mahan. All through his writings is writ large the man. 
Conscience is dominant. Here are seen laborious search 
for truth, restraint in utterance, the repose of conscious 
strength ; now the vigour of power, now the silence of 
power." 



254 LITERARY TRAITS [chap, xxiii 

While critics on both sides of the Atlantic were giving 
expression to gratifying tributes to his literary accom- 
plishments, how did Mahan himself regard his success ? 
Luckily we have in his private correspondence some 
interesting evidence on this point. Writing to his family 
in 1895 he says : 

*' Well, how do I feel about it all ? Of course I have 
been immensely gratified and pleased. It is but human, 
and I cannot think wrong so to feel ; but elated, I think 
not. It is constantly ringing in my ears, ' What hast 
thou that thou hast not received ? ' And so feeling, 
withal, there has been an absence of self-consciousness or 
embarrassment that has fairly surprised me. Smalley 
did me there no more than justice — I have really not felt 
any conceit, for the reason that my knowledge of the 
success of my work is wholly external ; I know it as a 
fact — but I don't realise it, nor, somehow, identify it 
with myself." 

Both matter and style in his Life of Nelson were sub- 
jected to somewhat caustic criticism by Mr. David 
Hannay, who impugned some of Mahan' s historical con- 
clusions, and among other things, some complimentary 
and some the reverse, had this to say of his style : 

" Captain Mahan — a slight touch of the school- 
master, and a pardonable tinge of the dogmatist being 
allowed for — is always on the side of the angels, that is to 
say, in agreement with common sense. ... A book 
being by the nature of things a piece of writing, the ques- 
tion how it is written has to be, if not settled, at least 
recognised, when we are considering its merits. Like 
the error of Nelson in regard to Napoleon's generalship 
in 1797, Captain Mahan' s style is not quite worthy of his 
native sagacity. There is a certain looseness of fibre 
about his form which weakens the matter in the telling ; 
and this has its counterpart in a certain redundancy of 
narrative. . . . Captain Mahan is not without something 
of Napier's sense of the poetry of war, but he cannot get 



DAVID HANNAY'S CRITICISM 255 

it expressed. It is all in solution, and struggles out 
incoherently." 

At the end of the article ^ these words are pencilled 
in Mahan's handwriting : 

" The divergence is such as to show that one or the 
other of us is either wholly incompetent — or in this 
particular instance too wholly wrong-headed — to write 
as a critic on military matters." 

Writing to Mahan about his Influence of Sea Power 
upon History, Admiral Colomb, the noted naval historian, 
said : 

" I hope you were satisfied with the reception your 
book received in this country. I think all our naval 
men regard it as the naval book of the age. We have 
all been struck by the beauty of your style, as much as 
by the force of your arguments." 

Occasionally, although not in his principal works, 
he indulged in what the stylists would term inelegancies 
of expression ; such for instance as '' there could not but 
be mistakes," when he intended to say " mistakes would 
have been inevitable"; and ''he came to be more 
distinguished," instead of " he became." In one 
article he dropped into the mistake of referring to the 
German Emperor as " Emperor of Germany." 

A few years ago a list of the first Forty Immortals 
to constitute a proposed American Academy of Arts 
and Letters was prepared by the National Institute of 
Arts and Letters of America. The name of Alfred 
Thayer Mahan was among those thus honoured. 

Mahan deserved and won personal credit for the 
tangible results of his many excellences. Literary style 
is in large measure a gift, similar to that of a beautiful 
voice, a lovely face, remarkable strength or speed, for 
which the unthinking world is all too apt to ascribe 

^ Nelson and his Biographers. 



256 LITERARY TRAITS [chap, xxiii 

credit to the individual, whereas such gifts merit but 
admiration, except in so far as they have been developed 
and improved by personal effort. To this task he 
devoted much painstaking thought and labour.^ He 
by no means escaped criticism in respect of both matter 
and style, but it was the happy combination of the 
two, as constituting the literary vehicle of his priceless 
message to mankind, that influenced more than one 
authority to express the opinion that he was the greatest 
writer America had yet produced. 

1 " Such advance as I have made in technique — and I trust I have 
made some — I have owed to the critical running analysis of the con- 
struction of sentences, which has been my habit ever since I began 
to write. That this is constant with me, subconsciously, is shown by 
the frequency with which it passes into a conscious logical recasting 
of what I read. To get antecedents and consequents as near one 
another as possible ; qualifying words or phrases as close as may be 
to that which they qualify ; an object near its verb ; to avoid an 
adjective which applies to one or two nouns being so placed as to 
seem to qualify both ; such minute details seem to me worthy of the 
utmost care, and I think I can trace advance in these respects." — 
From Sail to Steam. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS 

" The good which Admiral Mahan did in the Church and in the 
world are not easily estimated, but his life, with its deep faith, was 
an inspiration to us all." — Frederick Burgess, Bishop of Long 
Island. 

No portrait of Alfred Thayer Mahan which failed to 
emphasise his deeply religious nature would faithfully 
reflect his true personality. It would be difficult to 
exaggerate the intensity of his convictions or his life- 
long devotion to things spiritual. 

His letters to his friend Mr. Ashe suggest that he was 
religiously inclined, even at the age of eighteen, although 
perhaps unconsciously so. He disclaims any personal 
religious tendencies at this time, but expresses scorn for 
anyone who becomes religious from a sense of fear. His 
correspondence indicates that a deep appreciation of the 
literary beauty ' of the Bible led to his active adoption 
of the religious life. In one letter when he was nineteen 
he says : 

" Do you ever read the Bible ? What a beautiful 
passage this is that I met the other day in a book : 

" ' Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden 
bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, 
or the wheel broken at the cistern : then shall the dust 
return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return 
unto God who gave it.' 

" Sam, I am not religious, but does it need religion to 

1 " With the English Bible and Shakespeare one may inherit not 
only the Anglo-Saxon tradition but also the world's supreme achieve- 
ments in prose, poetry, and religion." — Thayer's Life of John Hay. 

257 



258 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chai . xxiv 

appreciate the beauty and sublimity of such poetry as 
that ? " 

Mr. Ashe recounts that at the end of the Civil War, 
Mahan sent him part of his savings to help him to make 
a start in his profession. 

His diaries as a young man in the twenties testify to a 
daily habit of self-introspection most rare in one so young 
and not in holy orders. Its severe and searching char- 
acter might almost be described as morbidly exacting. 
No action or thought during the day escaped examina- 
tion and criticism in the light of his duty toward God. 
His proneness to ill-temper caused him much concern 
as a young man. An entry in his diary reads : 

" They can never be recalled. Those moments of un- 
lovely irritability cannot be changed to sweet charity 
now. Pardoned they may be, but respent, never." 

No doubt this religious habit of life was largely, even 
if unconsciously, the outcome of early association with 
his mother, who was a profoundly devout woman and 
instilled into her children a deep sense of the beauty and 
satisfaction of the religious life, and the exquisite joy of 
close communion with the never-failing Friend, who, 
although transcending definition in so poor and in- 
sufficient a medium as language, may perhaps be 
visualised as the spiritual embodiment of the sum of all 
the noblest aspirations of the human heart. 

Among the most notable traits in Mahan' s character 
was a sense of duty so strong and so all-comprehensive 
that it was impossible for him to be other than scrupu- 
lously honest in thought, word, and deed. As a natural 
outcome, everyone trusted him, far and near ; and his 
writings deservedly earned an enviable reputation for 
impartial truth in statement and accuracy in detail. 
In all his twenty books and innumerable pamphlets, 
articles, and letters on various subjects, so far as the 



HABIT OF PRAYER 259 

author has discovered, only twice was he justly accused 
of an inaccuracy of any moment, and in both instances 
the error was acknowledged and rectified in subsequent 
editions of the book in which it occurred. 

While there is no evidence that Mahan ever prayed for 
material things, it was the invariable habit of his life to 
ask for spiritual guidance and assistance in all matters of 
importance. How marvellous a power is habit in every 
relation of life ! But for its mysterious force and silent 
influence the poor would do away with themselves and 
the rich would be down on their knees all day long 
thanking God for their overflowing larders. Mahan' s 
natural reticence in connection with sacred matters is 
strikingly illustrated by the fact that none of his books, 
not even the autobiography he wrote under the title 
From Sail to Steam, contain more than a passing and 
isolated reference to his religious convictions. The one 
exception is The Harvest Within, which, under the 
description of Thoughts on the Life of the Christian, is of 
an entirely religious character, and eloquently testifies 
to the intensity of his spiritual beliefs, to his remarkable 
knowledge of the Scriptures, and to the study and research 
which from his youth up he had devoted to religious 
subjects. 

In common with many religious works of a similar 
character. The Harvest Within suffers from a super- 
abundance of familiar Biblical quotations, but the book 
abounds in helpful counsel, telling historic parallel and 
apt illustration, of which the following is perhaps a 
characteristic example : 

" Untiring as man's efforts may be, and much as they 
may conduce to constitute conditions favorable to life 
and to growth, the life is not his, never was his ; never, 
thank God, will be his. It was given him ; it is main- 
tained in him. He grows, but he does not make him- 
self. There is no self-made man in the Kingdom of 
God." 
18 



260 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

The brass tablet erected in his memory in the Church 
of the Atonement at Quogue, Long Island, and which 
is here reproduced, bears faithful witness to the genuinely 
high opinion in which he was held by those who knew 
him best. His bank-books justify the assumption that 
he too agreed that " the greatest of these is Charity " ; 
for in view of the comparatively limited means at his 
disposal, they disclose a liberality bespeaking a most 
generous nature and a high sense of responsibility 
towards his less favoured fellow men. No. 4 of some 
" Notes for daily conduct of life," which appear in one of 
his diaries when he was about twenty-eight, provides for 
setting aside seventeen dollars per month for alms- 
giving. This would have made a considerable inroad 
into his slender income in those early days. He was a 
believer in Charity in its highest and best sense, as inter- 
preted by kind thoughts, kinder words, and kindest 
deeds ; the one offering altogether acceptable to the 
Supreme Author of loving kindness, as attested in that 
matchless summary of the final and all-comprehensive 
verdict, " Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the 
world : for inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least 
of these my brethren ye did it unto me." 

Reference has already been made to Mahan's voluntary 
offering of all the means at his disposal at the end of the 
Civil War to help Southern Naval Officers in financial 
straits. Another instance of his kindly disposition is 
reflected in the following communication, which tells its 
own tale and from which the names have been appro- 
priately deleted : 

" Bishop's House, 

" The Rev. of informs me that he has 

applied to you asking for a loan of money, and requests 
me to write you regarding this. 

" Mr. has been under heavy expense owing to the 

poor health of his mother, who is entirely dependent 
upon him. Mr. has been at for one year, 



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MEMORIAL TABLET LST THE CHUBCH OP THE ATONEMENT, QUOGUE, 
LONG ISLAND. 




2G01 



THE CHESNEY GOLD MEDAL. 



CHARITY AND HOPE 261 

where he has furnished the rectory to make a home for 
his mother. His salary is $1,200 per year. On this he 
would be able to get along were it not that he took his 
mother West for her health, before .coming to — — , 
which cost him three or four hundred dollars more than 
he anticipated. This, with the expense of setting up 
house-keeping, has caused him embarrassment. 

" I am sending you the facts, and leave to your own 
judgment whether you care to make the loan. There 
is no doubt that the loan would be of great assistance to 

Mr. in his present situation. 

" Faithfully yours, 



Note by Admiral Mahan : 

" Nov. 2, 1911. Sent Mr. cheque for $100 named 

January, 1913, for repayment, but said sum would be 
given or returned to some church work. He was, there- 
fore, to consider himself in debt to the Church, rather 
than to me, and on that basis to contrive repayment. 

" In case of my death authorised him to pay the 
amount to Bishop for missionary work in diocese." 

Now although Mahan seems to have privately lived up 
to the principle of the super-excellence of Charity, he 
publicly extolled Ilo'pe in an address in which he made 
his confession of faith, summarising his experiences in the 
following words : 

" It is, I think, the hopefulness of Religion that has 
most impressed itself as the result of my experience — 
and I am not naturally of sanguine temper. As a 
matter of experience, starting in life with a fearful and 
apprehensive mind, I find constantly growing the feeling 
of hopeful confidence. God has stood by me so often, 
surely I can trust Him now. 

" I sum it all up in the reiteration of my sure and 
joyful confidence, that I have tried God these many years 
and found Him ever faithful ; faithful not only in the 
ordering of my external life, but still more faithful in 
the gradual increase to me of that knowledge of God, in 
which standeth our eternal life ; a knowledge of whose 
growth I can give no account, except that I do know. 



262 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

" I thank you greatly for listening to me, and your 
Rector for asking me to speak. I value beyond words 
the opportunity, once in my life, before God's people, 
to avow my faith, that to me He is, and has been, — not 
in my imperfect service, but in His own perfect faithful- 
ness, — Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, 
the First and the Last. I rejoice that once at least I am 
able publicly to lay at His feet in words — however poor 
my deeds — the confession that all I have, all I am, all 
that I have accomplished, has been of Him and through 
Him ; and that, as the end draws near, there abides, 
what only my own demerit can forfeit, the Hope, which 
experience of His faithfulness renews day by day." 

He also extolled Hope in his address on receiving his 
Degree at Dartmouth College. 

Regular church attendance was a lifelong habit of his, 
and there is no doubt he could have personally officiated 
at any service of the Church with conspicuous ability. 
It was not by any means unusual for him to signify by 
a smile and an inclination of the head his approval of 
those portions of a sermon which specially appealed to 
him, maintaining a solemn and undemonstrative atti- 
tude during the rest of the sermon ; a procedure some- 
what disconcerting at times to those of the clergy to 
whom it was a new experience ; more especially as in such 
a small place of worship as the Church of the Atonement 
at Quogue, Mahan would be sitting within a few feet 
of the pulpit and in full view of the entire congregation.^ 
When at sea, lonely and far away from family and friends, 
at the hour when service was being held in his parish 

1 " He was to me a typical example of the humble servant of the 
Master, and his devotion and interest at the services in the chapel 
impressed me profoundly. And added to all was his missionary zeal. 
I shall never forget how impressed I was years ago by the fact that 
he went into the city on one of the boiling-hot days of August to 
attend a farewell service for some missionaries at the Board of Missions. 
He had a strong effect upon me whenever I preached, silently chal- 
lenging me, as it were, to do my best, and I count it one of the greatest 
privileges of my life to have had him as hearer for so many years 
during the summer." — Fkederick B. Cabter. 



CHAMPION OF THE FAITH 263 

church at home, he would break away, if possible, from 
his duties as captain of the ship, and read the Daily 
Service in his cabin. 

Among other activities in the direction of religious 
work, Mahan was consulted about the revision of the 
Prayer Book, and wrote several articles on the subject 
which appeared in The Churchman. He was a strong 
advocate of uniformity in Church Service procedure, 
in order that community of worship throughout the 
world should be maintained. He read before the 
Episcopalian Club of Massachusetts in 1899 a paper 
on the " Relations of the Church to the State " which 
was subsequently published, and wrote a trenchant 
criticism of Winston Churchill's The Inside of the Cup. 
" That one letter," said a writer of the day, " showed 
that Admiral Mahan' s reputation for scholarship, for 
close reasoning, for forceful writing and churchmanship 
of a high order, rests on a solid foundation." Later 
he contributed to The North American Review an effec- 
tive reply to a paper on Twentieth Century Christianity, 
read by Doctor Charles W. Elliot of Harvard before a 
general conference of Unitarian and other churches. 

This response solicited expressions of grateful appre- 
ciation from numerous quarters. One of these was 
from Mr. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy : 

" My dear Admiral, 

" I have read with the greatest pleasure and profit 
your article in The North American Review, replying to 
Dr. Elliot. It is most helpful to the younger men to 
read your clear call to hold fast to the ancient land- 
marks our fathers set. 

" With sentiments of esteem and kind regards, I am, 
" Sincerely yours, 

" Josephus Daniels." 

And Bishop Gailor of Tennessee wrote : "I thank God 
for a layman who can state the faith as you have 
declared it." 



264 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

Mahan did much to promote the missionary work of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church of North America, 
and was a member of the Commission on missionary 
work in connection with the World Missionary Con- 
ference in Edinburgh in 1910. 

Although described by the Secretary of the Navy as 
the best informed man upon war and its lessons with 
whom he ever conversed, he was said in The Spirit of 
Missions to be by practice a man of peace, and like Glad- 
stone a man of great versatility, but of a deeply spiritual 
and consecrated life, a son of whom the Church had 
reason to be proud. 

He was an ardent supporter of Foreign Missions, and on 
the death of Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1900 he was elected 
to the Board of Missions, on which he served for ten years. 
An indirect outcome of his efforts was the Mahan School 
at Yangchow, China. He was for many years an active 
director of the Seamen's Church Institute of New York,i 

1 Considered one of the best of its kind in any part of the world. 
Its building is crowned by a lighthouse erected by public subscription 
in memory of the victims of the Titanic disaster. It bears this 
inscription : 

LIGHTHOUSE TOWER AND TIME BALL 

Erected by Public Subscription 

THIS LIGHTHOUSE TOWER IS A MEMOBIAL TO THE 
PASSENGEES, OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE STEAM- 
SHIP ' TITANIC,' WHO DIED AS HEROES WHEN THAT 
VESSEL SANK AFTER A COLLISION WITH AN ICEBERG. 

Latitude 41° 46' North 
Longitude 50° 14' West 
April 15, 1912. 
House the brave who sleep ' Women and children first,'' 

Where the lost ' Titanic ' lies. Oh, strong and tender cry. 

The men who knew what a man The sons whom women had borne 

must do and nursed 

When he looks Death in the eyes. Remembered — and dared to die. 

The boats crept off in the dark. 
The great ship groaned — and then — 
Oh, stars of the night who saw that sight. 
Bear witness these were men ! 

Henry van Dyke. 



SEAMEN'S CHURCH INSTITUTE 265 

and the success of that splendid institution owes 
much to his practical sympathy and unfailing sup- 
port. 

At a meeting of the Board of Managers of the Seamen's 
Church Institute of New York, held December 16, 1914, 
the following minute was unanimously adopted : 

" The death of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Rear- Admiral, 
U.S.N., retired, America's foremost naval strategist 
and the world's greatest authority on sea power, brings 
especial sorrow to the Board of Managers of the Institute 
of which he was a Lay Vice-President, having been a 
member of the Board since 1867 — forty-seven years. 
He was an absolutely conscientious member of the many 
Committees on which he willingly, faithfully, and 
graciously served. He was an interested and active 
member of the Building Committee which erected the 
Institute on the corner of South Street and Coenties 
Slip, and was also a member of the Seamen's Church 
Institute of America, a Commission appointed by the 
General Convention in 1904. 

" His deep interest in all matters which concerned the 
good of seamen and his unfailing and unselfish service in 
their interest will be gratefully remembered by all who 
had the privilege of working with him. 

"His quiet strong personality was always felt. 

" He was essentially a man of God of superior intel- 
lect, and with profound religious convictions ; a great 
Churchman and an ardent patriot. 

" The Board of Managers desires to express to his 
immediate family and relatives profound feeling of 
respect and sympathy. 

" An Extract from the Minutes. 

" Frank T. Warburton, 

" Secretary.^'* 

The following resolution bespeaks charitable activities 
in another direction : 

" At a meeting of the Trustees of the American Church 
Institute for Negroes, held at the Diocesan House, 



266 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

Thursday afternoon, December 3, 1914, the following 
resolution was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, that the Board of Trustees of the 
American Church Institute for Negroes desire to express 
their sense of the very great loss which they have sus- 
tained in the death of Rear- Admiral Mahan. He was 
always most deeply interested in the work of the Insti- 
tute, and was one of the most regular attendants at its 
meetings. His counsel and advice were always greatly 
prized, and it will be difficult if not impossible to find 
anyone to fill his place. 

" David H. Greer, 
" President, 
^^ American Church Institute for Negroes^ 

The Reverend Milo Mahan, the Admiral's uncle, pro- 
bably influenced his nephew's mind strongly towards a 
sound conception of religion when he was a young man 
at Columbia College and lived in his house. In a letter 
written in 1864, among a number of other interesting 
things he says : 

" Things happen to us constantly, which prove that 
God rules, or else that Chance rules. But, if I must 
choose between Chance or God, to solve the mysteries 
of life, it is certainly reasonable to refer things to God 
of whom I can form some idea, rather than to Chance 
of which I can form no idea whatever. God may be 
mysterious. His ways may be dark and past finding 
out. But Chance is not mysterious merely, it is utterly 
unintelligible." 

Frederick the Great is quoted as having said : 
" The older one gets the more convinced one 
becomes that His Majesty King Chance does three- 
quarters of the business of this miserable universe." 

Lieutenant Commander K. Asami of the Japanese 
Navy wrote Mahan the following letter in March 1913 : 



JAPANESE APPRECIATION 267 

" Admiral Mahan, 

" Care of Navy Department, 
"Washington, D.C. 

" Dear Sir, 

" Knowing your interest in the cause of rehgion 
and humanity, I venture to write to you about a plan 
that I, as a Christian, have of writing the biography of 
the late Vice- Admiral Serata, who was a Christian. The 
biography is to be in Japanese, but if the whole, or some 
parts, could be published in English it would tend, I 
believe, to promote good feeling between your country 
and ours, since Admiral Serata was eduated in Anna- 
polis, In any case the publication in Japan alone will 
have some effect in promoting the cause of religion 
and of international peace. 

" If you would write some words for the book, either 
in the form of an introduction from the American 
point of view, or as a chapter on Admiral Serata' s 
life in the Academy, such words would have great 
influence upon our officers, who are all familiar with 
your works. 

" I should be much obliged, if, in addition to this, 
you could introduce me to some of the Admiral's 
classmates at the Academy between 1877 and 1881, as 
I should like to have some reminiscences written by 
some of them. 

" I am aware that I am asking a great favor, but 
trusting that you will be willing to render your assistance 
in so good a cause, 

" I am, Sir, 

" Respectfully yours, 

" K. ASAMI, 

" Lieutenant Commander, I.J.N '' 

That Mahan readily consented is apparent from a 
letter which followed a few months later and of which 
the following is an extract : 

"It is with gratitude and satisfaction that I receive 
your kind letter of May 17, granting my request for an 
introduction to the proposed biography of Admiral 
Serata. The mere fact of your writing it will help pro- 



268 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

mote good feeling between the two nations ; and I hope 
that the book will have such a circulation that your 
message regarding the harmonising element in Chris- 
tianity will cause many to think of the power of Christ 
to make all men one. Admiral Uriu has consented to 
help in the preparation of the book, which I trust may 
bring the Gospel to many who have not received it." 



A year later Commander Asami wrote : 

" The flaming work of the Serata's biography now 
come to the end, and it will be published within two 
months. Admiral Mahan is well acquainted in our Navy 
through his books, and he is now beginning to be 
widely known through his Christian character." 

Admiral C. H. Stockton wrote an appreciation of 
Mahan in The Churchman, in which he said that there 
were no half-way measures with the Admiral, and that 
he entered into the devout life with all of his intellectual 
power and all the strength of his character. That he 
was not only a Christian gentleman and a devout Church- 
man, but belonged to the highest and most unselfish 
type of American citizenship. 

Mahan' s message at seventy years of age may be 
summed up in these words of his : 

" It is on this practical side of religion, as one who has 
tried God these thirty years and more, that I see any 
right in me to speak. We begin, perhaps not exactly 
by trusting in ourselves, but in laying great store — 
not wholly undeserved — upon the things we ourselves 
do ; upon our prayers, our efforts, our observances of 
every kind. They are right ; they are good ; they are 
incumbent ; but the great trouble is that they are ours, 
rather than His. So we go forth, generation after 
generation, to the conflict — and many a rattling fall 
we get. 

" The hearing of God's word, prayer, the outward act 
of receiving the sacraments, spiritual effort of every 



HIS MESSAGE 269 

character, — this is man's part, — the casting of the seed 
and the tending of it ; but the growth is not of him. 
The ripening of Life, the maturing of the Christian 
character, goes on by itself, not independent of man's 
care, but wholly independent of man's power. 

" Here you have, not only in due proportion, but also 
fully developed, the two factors — man's part and God's 
part. The man casts the seed into the earth, — an ex- 
pression which involves by implication all that man 
does, the preparation of the ground, the planting, the 
tending, the watering ; but who is there that knows 
not that the growth of the grain is a life, the essential 
principle of which not only defies man's investigation, 
but is independent of his power ? 

" You are to supply the conditions essential to the 
Lord's coming, by prayer, by sacrament, by effort, for 
these are means which He has ordained ; but you are not 
to fall into the spiritual error of expecting that the doing 
these things will make you good, that you will conquer 
by their means, 

" I knew long ago by intellectual acceptance ; I know 
now by a knowledge for which I can give no account ; 
but I know as I never knew of old. And I feel justified 
in believing that through my generation telling you to 
expect that which I, at least, did not for a long time 
apprehend, you will find earlier than I found ; you will 
find that knowledge and that confidence, the possession 
of which passes all understanding, like the Peace of God, 
— which indeed it is. 

' Such is my experience which I give to you. Some 
distant day, perhaps, someone here young may tell a 
future generation that he was helped along his road — 
not by me, but by the Spirit of God speaking through 
me ; for unless it be the Spirit that speaks, and not I, 
these words are vain. Perhaps then he will feel that, 
having been so helped, he, at the close of his days, was 
farther on than else he would have been. 

"It is the grace of God to advancing years, a grace 
which, when received, more than compensates the man 
for the beauty and freshness of youth, that with the 
lapse of time he thus more and more sees his Maker as 
He is, and sees himself as he is." 



270 RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS [chap, xxiv 

" A favourite verse of Mahan's was Browning's : 

" Oroio old along with me ! 

The best is yet to be. 
The last of life, for which the first was made ; 
Our times are in His hand 

Who saith, ' A whole I planned, 
' Youth shows but half ; trust Ood, see all, nor be afraid.' " 

The contemplation of the incidents of such a life as 
that of Alfred Thayer Mahan is apt to raise a question 
in the mind as to just what the term Religion is going to 
imply in the twentieth century. Haply the day is 
approaching when, except possibly among the densely 
ignorant, religion will cease to be regarded as a blind 
adherence to certain arbitrary observances and articles 
of faith inherited in large measure from mediaevalism. 
It has been said that the happiness of one of the least of 
His children is more precious to Almighty God than all 
the Creeds in Christendom. When the various Churches 
and Sects pool their energies, inter-associate their 
divergencies of creed and procedure, overcome their 
prejudices — for the most part acquired by inheritance — 
and teach their people the one supreme and funda- 
mental truth, that in the sight of God kindness is every- 
thing, as compared with which the Church is nothing, 
will not Religion become universally recognised as 
essentially a standard of conduct, an habitual practice of 
the golden rule ? 

It is a difficult and a delicate matter to attempt to 
interpret the innermost feelings of a fellow human being, 
but in so far as it is permissible to do so, it would seem 
justifiable to suggest that Mahan's religion was of that 
nature which in the present day is apt to be termed old- 
fashioned ; that in his heart he was a conscientious 
advocate of the dogma of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. Whatever may have been his undisclosed 
convictions upon the many phases of Christian belief, 
his religion was of the type which makes for irreproach- 



KINDNESS 271 

al)le conduct in life ; and Mahan no doubt realised that 
there is no joy in the world in any way comparable to 
that which inevitably springs from the giving of happi- 
ness to others, and that in the final analysis Religion is 
neither Church, nor creed, nor dogma, nor observance ; 
but, first, last, and always, kindness, and all that kindness 
implies and comprehends. 

When he passed away, Bishop Greer of New York 
wrote this to Mrs. Mahan : 

" I shared with all the world the admiration for his 
eminent services to his chosen profession, and yet, 
beyond and above all that, I admired him for the 
beauty and charm of his Christian character." 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE AUTUMN OF LIFE 

" Call no man happy till he dies ; but having had the full term of 
life I feel that I may say confidently that I have had seventy years 
of happiness very little clouded." — A. T. Mahan. 

Maiian was promoted to Rear-Admiral on the retired 
list on June 29, 1906. " You will congratulate me, I 
am sure," he writes Admiral Bouverie Clark, " on pro- 
motion to Rear-Admiral Retired, a more substantial 
incident being that it increases my pay by something 
over £200. For the other, ' Captain Mahan,' has become 
almost a nom de 'plume for me, and I am a little perplexed 
about changing it." Most men on approaching the three 
score and ten milestone yearn for a complete relaxation 
from toil, but this virile thinker continued valiantly in 
harness until the end, although he was officially detached 
from all naval duty on June 6, 1912, and in October 
of that year, when he was seventy-two, he said in a 
letter to a friend : 

" I am now with friends near Philadelphia, and have 
already felt the benefit in these days, not only of the 
idleness but of the absence of the desk and its parapher- 
nalia which keeps work always in mind. I hope the 
total absence will break up all such associations and 
perhaps free me from the active interposition in current 
national naval policies which has added so much to my 
work this year.'' 

The years 1912 and 1913 were partly occupied with 
the publication of Armaments and Arbitration and Major 
Operations of the Navies in the War of American Inde- 

272 



1912-14] THE TOLL OF YEARS 273 

pendence ; and about this time his correspondence with 
Admiral Sir Bouveric Clark shows that he was realising 
that the years were beginning to tell. In one letter 
he says : 

" My old beloved friend, Dr. Johnson — do you know 
your Boswell ? — was always morose towards anyone 
that reminded him of his birthday. I can't say I have 
quite the same feeling about it, having rather a philo- 
sophic indifference, except at the not infrequent re- 
minders I get that I can't do things quite as I used to. 
A little slacking of the grip here, a little shortening of 
the walk there, not quite so many minutes of head work 
per diem, these and other little similar incidents remind 
me that I am coming to pieces after a fashion ; here a 
little and there a little, which all counts in the end. 
All this seems like grumbling, but it isn't ; upon the 
whole I think I am happier, steadily, than at any previous 
period of my life." 

Such was his vitality, however, at seventy-one years of 
age that he was able to write : 

" Here our bicycles are at the door like so many horses 
every day, and we go on them everywhere — church, 
post-office, beach, friends, and all. It is also for me a 
standard of strength. The long rides of five years ago 
I never take now, and my long rides are those which 
then were daily. For bathing I am much where I used 
to be, and go in colder water, remaining as long or longer. 
With the thermometer at 20 I get on very well with no 
overcoat, having great delight in the freer movement, 
and wonder at seeing men forty years my junior in gar- 
ments that are about as limber as plate armor, with 
heavy furs often to boot. I can still walk nearly four 
miles an hour, though I could not keep it up over an 
hour." 

The house referred to in the paragraph just quoted 
was built by the Admiral and Mrs. Mahan some years 
before this, and became their permanent home in Long 
Island. It is known as " Marshmere," and the accom- 



274 THE AUTUMN OF LIFE [chap, xxv 

panying photograph shows the side away from the sea 
and the garden. Here the author spent several enjoy- 
able weeks as the guest of Mrs. Mahan, sorting out 
material for this work in the Admiral's study. 

In the early part of 1913 he was abroad with his wife 
and two daughters, visiting France, Italy, and Sicily, 
and in a letter from Palermo he complains in somewhat 
melancholy fashion, "as an awful proof of old age," 
that sight-seeing, which a few years before he used to 
enjoy, bores him indescribably. 

The condition of affairs in the Balkans at that time 
evidently gave him some concern for the safety of his 
family. He feared the spark which might ignite the 
mighty conflagration, the arrival of which he foresaw 
and so eloquently predicted in his writings. He tells 
Sir Bouverie Clark : 

" Things have been moving pretty rapidly since I left 
London. It has been on my mind, though I have not 
worried, that any slight slip among the diplomats might 
land all the fat in the fire, and the Mediterranean be a 
scene of war before I would get my womenfolk out — not 
to say my gray hairs, what I have of them. Even now I 
should not be surprised by a mauvais tour in the proceed- 
ings, but they have been talking so long I fancy now 
they will be able to settle things without fighting. 
Nevertheless, as long as Turkey exists she will be per- 
petually giving rise to ' questions.' I believe the indi- 
vidual Turk is not a bad sort, but any people more 
hopelessly unfit for governing it is hard to imagine. I 
believe the Persians are worse." 

On the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he 
received many gratifying offers to write about the war. 
Two of these were of a highly remunerative character, 
and the money would have been more than acceptable, 
for in the closing years of his life he was much concerned 
about the financial position of his family in the event of 
his death and the cessation of his pay as Rear-Admiral 



1914] MUZZLED 275 

Retired. He was deprived of the fruits of this lucrative 
work, however, by an Order from the Government, pro- 
hibiting officers of the Army and Navy from writing 
about the war. The Order read ; 

" The White House, 
" Washington, 

" August 6, 1914. 

" I write to suggest that you request and advise all 
officers of the Service, whether active or retired, to re- 
refrain from public comment of any kind upon the 
military or political situation on the other side of the 
water. I would be obliged if you would let them know 
that the request and advice comes from me. It seems 
to me highly unwise and improper that officers of the 
Navy and Army of the United States should make any 
public utterances to which any color of political or 
military criticism can be given where other nations are 
involved. 

" Cordially and faithfully yours, 

" WooDRow Wilson. 
" Josephus Daniels, 

** Secretary of the NavyJ'^ 

Mahan appealed to the Secretary of the Navy for 
exemption as a retired officer : 

" QuoGUE, N.Y., 

" August 15, 1914. 

" To the Secretary of the Navy. 

"1. I have received the Department's Special Order 
of August 6, 1914, with reference to public comment by 
officers upon the existing European War. 

"2. I would represent that the status of a retired 
naval officer is by law so detached from employment by 
the Government, that his relation to the course of the 
Government and consequent responsibility of the 
Government for his published opinions differ scarcely 
at all from the case of a private citizen. 

" This consideration is reinforced by the fact that all 
the weight attached to the judgment of any particular 
officer is purely personal to him, and therefore private. 

19 



276 THE AUTUMN OF LIFE [chap, xxv 

If I were to resign from the Navy to-morrow, my opinions 
on professional matters would be valued neither less nor 
more than they now are. 

" 3. Assuming that the reason of the Government for 
the Order was to forestall any appearance of bias on its 
own part towards either belligerent — for no otherwise 
can a personal expression afiect it — I submit that the 
published opinion of a retired officer can in no wise com- 
promise the just sensitiveness of the Government as to 
the clear and evident impartiality of its attitude. 

"4. Public opinion being in the last analysis the 
determining force in our national policy, the effect 
of the Order is to disable a class of men best qualified by 
their past occupations, and present position, to put 
before the public considerations which would tend to 
base public opinion, in matters of current public interest, 
upon sound professional grounds. 

" 5. Personally, at the age of seventy-four, I find 
myself silenced at a moment when the particular pur- 
suits of nearly thirty years, the results of which had the 
approval of the naval authorities in almost all countries, 
might be utilised for the public. I admit a feeling of 
personal disappointment, but that necessarily must be 
of less consequence in any reconsideration that may be 
granted. I may state that I have, from Great Britain 
and from our own country, applications more than I 
could attend to, if permitted, couched in terms of strong 
appreciation of my particular fitness for the work, and 
which may consequently be assumed to indicate a 
popular want. 

"6. I believe that the terms of the Order exceed 
in stringency the rules of many of the great naval 
states, notably those of Great Britain. The Officer 
of Naval Intelligence can probably inform the Depart- 
ment on this point. 

" 7. On my own behalf I request the withdrawal of 
the Order as far as applicable to retired officers." 



Influential friends also made heroic efforts to induce 
the Administration to make an exception in his favour 
in view of his world-wide reputation for accurate and 



1914] LUCRATIVE OFFERS 277 

impartial presentation of military facts,* but they failed 
in their object. 

Colonel Frederick Mahan, writing from Paris in May 
1915 to a friend in New York, says : 

" I thank you very much for your words of sympathy 
in regard to my brother's death. There is no doubt in 
the minds of our family that the President's ' muzzling 
order ' forbidding officers in the Army or Navy to write 
anything in connection with the war hastened greatly 
his death, because — so my sister writes me — he chafed 
much at not being able to call the attention of our people 
to the great danger of being unprepared." 

These letters from the Editors of The Independent 
and Leslie^ s tell their own story : 

" The Independent, 

"119, West 40th Street, 
"New York. 
" Fen WICK, Conn., 

" August 7, 1914. 

" Dear Admiral Mahan, 

" The telephone treated me badly this afternoon, 
and I said I would write. We hope that you will find 
it possible to write each week during the progress of 
the war an interpretation of the naval events, so that 
the people may understand what is going on, and what 
it means — so far as that can be done consistently with 
the President's instructions. For the nev/spaper rights 
in such a series of articles we shall be glad to pay you one 
hundred dollars a week. It seems to us that it will con- 
stitute a great public service, as well as be a strong 
feature for The Independent. The articles may be from 
1,200 to 3,000 words, and should be in hand each week 
on Friday. 

1 In 1906 President Roosevelt had written him : " Your position is 
a peculiar one, and without intending to treat this as a precedent, I 
desire you to have a free hand to discuss in any way you wish the 
so-called peace proposals. You have a deserved reputation as a publicist 
which makes this proper from the public standpoint. Indeed, I think 
it important for you to write just what you think of the matter." 



278 THE AUTUMN OF LIFE [chap, xxv 

" I venture to recall myself to your acquaintance as 
for many years the publisher of The Outlook. 
" Yours sincerely, 

" William B. Howland." 

" The Independent, 

" 119, West 40th Street, 
" New York, 

*' August 9, 1914. 

'* Dear Admiral Mahan, 

" I am delighted beyond measure to hear that 
you will try to contribute an article on the Naval 
Strategy of the War to The Independent, and I take 
great pleasure in enclosing our check of $100 for it. 

" We shall need the manuscript by Thursday of next 
week. 

" Sincerely yours, 

" William B. Howland." 

(Note by Mahan : 

Returned " advanced check " Aug. 11. 

A. T. M.) 

" The Independent, 

" August 12, 1914. 

" Dear Admiral Mahan, 

" Your letter of August 10, followed by that of 
August 11, returning check for One Hundred dollars, is 
at hand. Thank you very much for giving our applica- 
tion so careful attention. I am quite confident that 
the President has issued his instructions in rather more 
drastic fashion than is desirable in the interests of the 
public, and I am glad to find that you agree with me in 
this feeling. Would it possibly be worth while, and in 
proper accord with the attitude of an officer toward the 
Administration, for you to make inquiry, either through 
the Secretary of the Navy, or directly to the President, 
whether for the kind of interpretation we have in mind, 
an exception may not be properly made. It is the 
purpose of The Independent to interpret the news, which 
is poured out by the daily papers in a flood, in such 
intelligent fashion as to afford a consecutive, clear and 
impartial Story of the War. There is no naval officer 



1914] EDITORIAL SYNDICATE 279 

so well qualified as yourself to do this work. If you 
should feel that it is proper for you to make any inquiry 
at Washington, and let me know, we shall also be glad 
to take the matter up. 

" Yours sincerely, 

" William B. Howl and." 

" Leslik's, 

" New York, 

" August 6, 1914. 

" My dear Admiral, 

" Your articles have always pleased me, but none 
has given me greater pleasure than the one I received 
from your pen this morning. It impelled me to tele- 
graph you the proposition that you follow the war, from 
the naval standpoint, as a regular weekly contributor to 
Leslie's, choosing your own subject or your own point of 
view, and getting the article to this office by Tuesday 
morning of each week. I do not ask that these weekly 
contributions be long, you can suit your own con- 
venience as to their length. It will be a pleasure to remit 
$100 every week for each article, and we will feel 
honored by having you as one of our contributing 
editors. 

" Very truly yours, 

" John A. Sleicher, 

" Editorr 

In May 1914 Mahan was invited by Mr. Atherton 
Brownell to join an Editorial Syndicate, and the follow- 
ing extracts from Mr. Brownell' s letters explain the 
scope of the project : 

" Reduced to its simplest point, my proposition will 
be to ask if you will be willing to write during the coming 
year a series of short articles, not to exceed 700 words 
in length each, and to the number perhaps of twelve, 
having to do with current and timely events particularly 
within the scope of your interest and study. It is 
designed that these should be published on the editorial 
page of a large chain of papers (dailies) over your 
signature. 



280 THE AUTUMN OF LIFE [chap, xxv 

" The importance of this work can best be indicated 
when I say to you that this suggestion to you is a part 
of a broader plan. 

" Without going into a discussion as to whether or 
not the influence of the daily editorial page has actually 
deteriorated or not — since there are those who hold that 
the same complaint has been heard from time im- 
memorial — there can be no question that the calibre of 
the daily editorial in most instances is not such as to 
create sound thought by the public as to the news 
events of which they read. 

" The plan that is now in mind is to create a board 
of contributing editors, composed of men each one of 
whom has made himself an authority in some special 
line or lines, and representing various shades of opinion, 
who shall contribute with more or less regularity his 
views or digest of the news of the day." 

"It is the purpose that this work shall be directed 
by an advisory board, which provisionally has been 
selected as follows : Prof. Franklin H. Giddings, Colum- 
bia University ; Dr. Talcott Williams, Dean of the School 
of Journalism of Columbia ; Waldemar Kaempffert, 
Managing Editor of the Scientific American; and the 
officers of the syndicate, consisting of John W. Hunter, 
formerly President of the Washington Herald, and myself. 

" We have extended this invitation thus far to Dr. 
Charles W. Eliot, Albert Bushnell Hart, Prof. William 
R. Shepherd, Prof. Emory Johnson, Dr. David Starr 
Jordan, Dr. Ernst Richard, Roger W. Babson, former 
Ambassador Curtis Guild, Frank A. Vanderlip, Edward 
T. Devine and several others, and are receiving from most 
of them a full measure of encouragement for the plan." 

(Note by Mahan : " Charge fifty dollars for 700 ; 700 
being harder than 1,000.") 

Although Mahan unfortunately survived but four 
months of active hostilities in 1914, he had time and op- 
portunity enough to express his approval of the disposition 
and strategy of the British Fleet, significantly adding that 
it would have been madness to have yielded to any rash 



1914] EXTOLS BRITAIN AND HER NAVY 281 

impulse to pursue the Germans into their mine-locked 
harbours. He further expressed his firm conviction as 
to the ultimate victory of the Allies, and paid a glowing 
tribute to the British Navy. He is reported to have said 
in an interview shortly after the outbreak of the war : 

" You people in England do not realise the immense 
admiration felt all over the world, yes, and in Germany 
also, for the British Navy. Speaking from my stand- 
point, as an American, I tell you that there is only one 
navy in the world, and that the others are mere strip- 
lings by comparison. I do not mean to underrate the 
American and other fleets, but, by comparison with the 
British, every other navy still has much to learn, 
Whether the moral of the officers and men is as good 
to-day as in the time of Nelson remains to be proved, 
but, personally, I hold that the British Navy to-day, in 
all essentials, remains as incomparably superb as ever." 

In a letter written to Messrs. B. F. Stevens & Brown, 
his London agents, Mahan said : 

" I take this opportunity to express to you the vivid 
interest with which I am following Great Britain's 
course in this war. But the testimony to the upright- 
ness and efficiency of her Imperial rule, given by the 
strong adhesion and support of India and the Dominions, 
is a glory exceeding that of pitched battle and over- 
whelming victory." 

In summing up the varied and complex incentives 
which contributed to bring about that wondrous 
unanimity with which the widely scattered overseas 
partners of the British Empire instantly rallied to the 
flag on the outbreak of war in 1914, who can estimate 
the measure of -the silent unconscious influence of 
England's irreproachable Court ? 

Mahan entertained no illusions whatever as to the 
quarter in which lay the awful responsibility for plunging 
the world in bloodshed and sorrow in 1914. In an 



282 THE AUTUMN OF LIFE [chap, xxv 

interview to the press at the time/ among other state- 
ments of his indicating profound and comprehensive 
grasp of the situation, was this : 

" The aggressive insolence of Austria's ultimatum to 
Servia, taken with the concession by the latter of all the 
demands except those too humiliating for self-respect, 
indicate that the real cause of the war is other than set 
forth by the ultimatum. 

" Knowing from past experience how the matter 
must be regarded by Russia, it is incredible that Austria 
would have ventured on the ultimatum unless assured 
beforehand of the consent of Germany to it. The 
inference is irresistible that the substance of the ulti- 
matum was the pretext for a war already determined on 
as soon as plausible occasion offered." 

In the later period of his life, two of Mahan's favourite 
haunts in New York were the Century Club and the 
University Club. In the library of the latter he was for 
many years a familiar figure. Here he wrote several of 
his books. In Mr. James W. Alexander's history of the 
University Club, his portrait appears among those of 
other distinguished members. Through the courtesy of 
Mr. William Alexander, Secretary of the Equitable Life 
Assurance Society of the United States, Mr. Robert 
Bridges, Editor of Scribner^s Magazine, and the members 
of the House Committee and the Library Committee of 
the Club, the author was accorded the invaluable privi- 
lege of two months' honorary membership, which was of 
no little advantage in preparing some of the matter for 
these pages, and for which he will always remain in- 
debted to the members of the Club. He also records 
with gratitude the courteous hospitality of the Lotos 
Club, famous for its exhibitions of pictures and its 
dinners to distinguished men. 

For some time previous to his death Mahan had been 

^ See Appendix. 



1914] THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR 283 

at work on a History of the United States, and among his 
papers is an introductory summary of some thirty sheets, 
which is apparently all that was actually written, 
although there are evidences of extensive preparation. 
This was apparently his last literary work. From 
beginning to end he wrote for thirty years, and at the 
close of his life perhaps no tribute to his genius was 
more highly appreciated by his friends than that from 
the British Ambassador at Washington : 

" British EMBAsav, 

" Washington, D.C, 

" December 2, 1914. 

" Madam, 

" It is my duty on behalf of the British Admiralty 
to express the sorrow British sailors feel at the death of 
your husband. Although other countries besides our 
own and other Navies profited by the insight and know- 
ledge with which he drew and discovered the great con- 
clusions of Naval History, the British service is his chief 
debtor. The achievements of our sailors were his theme 
and their consequences his doctrine. 

" There is probably no officer in any of the Battle 
Fleets and Squadrons now serving all over the world who 
has not been, and is not now being encouraged and 
instructed by the truths he taught about sea power. 
We remember also that he was a sincere friend of our 
country in times when friends are dear. 

" I have the honour to remain, Madam, 

" Respectfully yours, 

" Cecil Spring-Rice." 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE PEACEFUL END 

" It was my good fortune to be thrown into close relations with 
Admiral Mahan. He was a man of rare scope and vision, being able 
to see things in their wider relations. His place in his day and genera- 
tion is assured, as that of a student of affairs, past and present, who 
possessed a peculiar power to grasp principles which others had seen 
only dimly, and to set them forth with such clearness and force that 
all could understand them. In this way he left a deep impression 
upon his times. Equally characteristic was his deep sense of truth 
and perfect sincerity. He was also singularly fair in his judgments. 
All that he said and wrote sprang from profound conviction and an 
earnest desire to be just and helpful." — Professor John Bassett 
Moore, LL.D.i 

In letters to his old friend Admiral Sir Bouverie Clark, 
with whom he continued to correspond to the end, Mahan 
began complaining in 1908 of waning strength, the result 
of which had been to compel him to cut down both work 
and exercise. In 1907 and .1908 he had two serious 
operations, and the pressure to write all that was asked 
of him subsequently brought on what he described as a 
heart attack, from which, however, he recovered. 

He told Admiral Clark, in 1908, that he was feeling 
close to his actual age, sixty-eight, whereas two years 
before he was " substantially fifty." He still claimed, 
however, that he had plans and an outlook, and was 
contemplating the writing of another book. Three 
years later he wrote : " The conclusion of the whole 
matter is I am a hopeless old fogey " ; notwithstanding 
which, in the autumn of 1914, he moved to Washington 

1 Professor of International Law and Diplomacy, and Assistant 
Secretary of State. 

284 



1914] SIMPLE FUNERAL SERVICE 285 

with his family, intending to pass the winter there in 
special research work for the Carnegie Institute, with 
a view to writing the history of American expansion 
and its bearing on sea power, a monumental work to 
which he had given much thought. In November he 
had another heart attack, to which he succumbed. He 
quietly and peacefully breathed his life away at the 
Naval Hospital in Washington on December 1, 1914, 
in his seventy-fifth year. 

The funeral service was held in St. Thomas' Epis- 
copal Church in Washington, the Rev. Ernest Smith, 
the Rector, officiating. In accordance with the Admiral's 
wish the service was of the simplest character and 
without military ceremony. As in his life, so in his 
death, he manifested the same modest and unassuming 
tendencies. His mortal remains lie buried in the 
little cemetery at Quogue, Long Island, and a simple 
cross marks his last resting-place. 

The cousinly tribute which here follows strikes the 
keynote of his singularly unpretentious nature : 

" Chestnut Avenue, 

" Chestnut Hill, 

" December 12, 1914. 

" I was so glad we could be with you at that beautiful 
service at St. Thomas' Church. It seemed to me that 
the simplicity of it all was just what Cousin Alfred would 
have liked. I am so thankful that we had that little 
visit from him last winter, for it left such a lasting impres- 
sion on my mind of his goodness and humility. I had 
always loved Cousin Alfred from the time he stayed 
with Madie when you were first married, and he used to 
sing to us the old songs, such as ' Where are you going, 
Billy Boy ? ' and ' Mother, will you buy me a pan of 
milk ? ' I have sung those same songs to all my children, 
and they love them too ; but last winter I was so im- 
pressed with the way in which Cousin Alfred lived his 
religion, it was an example I hope I shall never forget." 

*' Eugenia M. Cheston." 



286 THE PEACEFUL END [chap, xxvi 

The obituary notices which appeared would fill a 
number of large scrap-books. Every newspaper and 
periodical of any importance in both hemispheres re- 
corded the irretrievable loss the world had sustained, 
and published extended biographical sketches of his 
life and work, in many instances extending to several 
columns. From the mass a few extracts characteristic 
of the majority are here selected : 

" Rear-Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, U.S.N., re- 
tired, America's foremost naval strategist and the 
world's greatest authority on sea power, died suddenly 
at the United States Naval Hospital here at 7.15 o'clock 
this morning of heart disease. 

" Though he was in his seventy-fifth year, Admiral 
Mahan was in apparently good health until the war 
began. The first month of hostilities deeply affected 
him. There were great demands made upon him for 
comments as a naval expert, and during the early days 
of the war he gave many interviews and wrote a number 
of articles dealing with the contest. 

" Only last week he visited Secretary Daniels at the 
Navy Department, and Mr. Daniels said to-night the 
Admiral was the best-informed man on the war and its 
lessons he had conversed with. 

" Admiral Mahan was as familiar with Europe, her 
history and armaments, as he was with American 
history, and knew many of the men actively identified 
with the war in high places in England, Germany, and 
France. Some of his intimate friends among the military 
and naval men in Europe had lost their lives in the war, 
and this shocked him. 

" His great reputation had been developed in the 
nine years immediately preceding the First Hague 
Conference. It was in 1890 that his first book of 
international importance. The Influence of Sea Power 
upon History, was published in Boston, and made 
the author known around the world. This book is 
really responsible for the German Navy as it exists 
to-day. 

" Three intimate friends who met him frequently on 



1914] WORLD-WIDE APPRECIATION 287 

his visit to Washington this winter, expressed the behef 
to-night that the war in Europe had hastened his death. 
They said that Admiral Mahan was not only most keenly 
interested in the great struggle, its relation to sea power, 
and the naval and strategic problems and lessons being 
solved or taught by the war, but that the events of the 
war greatly excited his mind and heart." — The New 
York Times. ''^ 



The London Morning Post, in appreciative words, ex- 
pressed the sympathetic admiration of the people of 
Great Britain : 

" In Admiral Mahan dies the greatest among naval 
historians, for he both chronicled naval events and 
deduced from them their governing principles, so that 
he was above all the naval philosopher. Ever a cordial 
friend to England, inspired with a profound admiration 
for the British Navy, the distinguished American did in 
a sense which he himself never in the least anticipated 
inflict an immense burden upon this country. For he 
taught the civilised world what had hitherto been hid 
from their eyes, and which, excepting a few sailors and 
fewer statesmen, was by no means understood by the 
people of Great Britain, the sovereign virtue of sea 
power. The Influence of Sea Power upon History was 
published in 1890, and in the course of a few years every 
nation began to profit by its teaching, with the inevit- 
able result that Great Britain was compelled to spend 
larger and still increasing sums upon her Navy. For 
Mahan' s doctrine, drawn as it was mainly from the 
history of the British Navy, proved in irrefragable terms 
that for the British Empire a supreme Navy was the 
condition of its existence. Few men who have achieved 
greatness owned less intention to win fame. One of the 
first British sailors to recognise the extraordinary value 
of the work was Lord Charles Beresford, who was then 
captain of H.M.S. Undaunted, and who wrote to the 
author on the subject. Gifted with an admirable modesty, 
Mahan was always ready to give his sagacious counsel 
to those who sought it. This country owes to the great 



288 THE PEACEFUL END [chap, xxvi 

American a debt which can never be repaid, for he was 
the first elaborately and comprehensively to formulate the 
philosophy of British sea power, and from time to time, 
as occasions of difficulty arose, he published an essay or 
an article which indicated the right course for Great 
Britain to follow. He foresaw that the present war 
would come, and his counsel in existing circumstances 
would have been invaluable." 



The spiritual aspect of Mahan's nature, and the loss 
which the Church sustained in his death, formed the 
subject of a tribute to his memory in the Parish record of 
Old Trinity Church, New York, which voiced the senti- 
ments of Churchmen throughout the world : 

" In the death of Admiral Mahan, the Church has lost 
one who may truly be described as a great layman, 
accepting with his whole heart the Church's teaching, 
interested and active in her work, illustrating her truth 
in his own Christian character and life. The powers of 
his trained and disciplined mind, which gained him 
recognition throughout the world in naval affairs, were 
used by Admiral Mahan just as earnestly and con- 
scientiously in spiritual matters. He said once, on a 
public occasion, that he felt it a privilege to bear his 
witness that he found in the statements in the Church's 
Creed not only the deepest spiritual help but the most 
intense intellectual satisfaction. In 1910 Admiral 
Mahan published a work entitled The Harvest Within, 
the Life of the Christian, which reveals both his unusual 
theological knowledge and the reality of his own spiritual 
experience. Its keynote is found in the words ' The 
riches of Christ are unsearchable ; but chief among them 
is the gift of love for Himself. It is a gift, not an 
acquisition.' It would be well if every Churchman 
would make himself familiar with this volume." 



Among the many letters of condolence and recognition 
of his services to mankind, was one from the Hon. 



1914] JOSEPHUS DANIELS 289 

Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, who wrote on 
behalf of the Navy Department : 

" Navy Department, 
" Washington, 

" December 1, 1914. 
" Mrs. Alfred T. Mahan, 

" 2025 HiLLYER Place, 

" Washington, D.C. 

*' My dear Mrs. Mahan, 

" The Department is deeply grieved to learn of 
the death of your husband, Rear-Admiral Alfred T. 
Mahan, U.S. Navy, Retired, which occurred at the 
Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C, December 1, 1914, 
and extends to you its sincere sympathy in your 
bereavement. 

" Admiral Mahan was not only a fine type of Naval 
Officer, but possessed a lovable character that en- 
deared him to all with whom he came in contact. 
His attainments, which gave him a world-wide renown, 
were of immeasurable value to the country he loved and 
served, and though he is gone, his works happily remain 
as a guide and inspiration, not only for this generation 
but for all that are to come. 

" What he so ably and convincingly wrote was accepted 
at home and abroad as authority, and there are no 
enlightened peoples who are not familiar with his name. 

" In your distress you must feel a solemn pride that 
throughout the world to-day his passing will be learned 
of with deep regret, not only because of the high esteem 
in which his name is held, but because he leaves in the 
world of achievement a place that cannot be filled. 

" Your grief is shared not only by the Service he loved 
and long and nobly worked for, but by the Nation. 

" Very respectfully and with heartfelt sympathy, 

" Josephus Daniels, 
" Secretary of the Navy.''' 

The Navy League of Great Britain sympathised with 
the American Navy League in their mutual loss, and 
expressed their feelings in this appreciative message : 

" Members of the Navy League in every part of the 
world will deeply regret the death of Admiral Alfred 



290 THE PEACEFUL END [chap, xxvi 

Thayer Mahan, which took place on December 1, 1914. 
To readers of The Navy the name of the distinguished 
American naval publicist will be a household word. 
No writer has more profoundly expressed the thought of 
his time with the significance of sea power in international 
policy. His series of great works on naval subjects 
profoundly influenced the thought of the nations, and the 
opinions he expressed with so much eloquence and con- 
viction have been in no small measure responsible for the 
evolution of latter-day naval policy. The members of 
the British Navy League tender with all respect their 
most sincere expression of sympathy and regret to the 
members of the American Navy League and the people 
of the United States in the loss which they have sustained 
through the death of this gallant officer." 

A couple of letterss are here selected from the mass 
of communications from personal friends : one from 
Admiral Rodgers : 

" Gband Hotel National, 

" LtrOEBNE, 

" December 9, 1914. 

" Dear Mrs. Mahan, 

" We were deeply grieved in learning by the 
papers of the death of your husband : indeed it came to 
us as a shock, for we recalled how well and strong and 
young he was only three years ago when he came to 
Newport and the War College. We recalled this and the 
deep impression he made upon us all by the interest and 
range of his conversation and the charm of his manner. 
Of the fame he acquired years ago and maintained 
throughout his life I need not speak to you who were 
for so long his co-laborer, but I beg you to receive 
this expression of our very deep sympathy in the loss 
of one whose name is known the world around and to 
believe me, 

*' Yours sincerely, 

" Raymond T. Rodgers." 

And one from Mr. James Ford Rhodes, the distinguished 
historian and lecturer ; 



1914] JAMES FORD RHODES 291 

" 392, Beacon Street, 
" Boston, 
" December 3, 1914. 

" Dear Mrs. Maiian, 

" I must send to you my profound grief at 
Admiral Mahan's death. I had a long talk with him 
last April and he seemed to me in the best of health, 
using a strong voice and an active brain as he imparted 
to me his common-sense views of the policy of our 
country which was under our discussion. My acquaint- 
ance with Admiral Mahan runs back to the last century, 
and while we did not see one another often, it so hap- 
pened that we had long talks when we met. I learned 
very much from him and always felt that, after an inter- 
view, I had made an intellectual advance. We saw 
one another frequently at the University Club, not so 
often at the Century, and the impression that I formed 
from my intercourse with him during his several visits 
to Boston, was confirmed, that never did I know a man 
of such just celebrity, and such rare intellectual dis- 
tinction, who was withal so modest. 

" I feel that history and literature have suffered a 
great loss. 

" I remain, 

" Very truly yours, 

" James Ford Rhodes." 

The following resolution speaks for itself : 

" Navy Recobds Society, 
" Admiralty, 

" London, S.W.I. 

Hon. Treasurer : Sir W. Graham Greene, K.C.B., 

Secretary : W. G. Perrin. 

Resolution passed at a Meeting of the Navy Records 

Society, December, 1914. 

" The Council of the Navy Records Society desire 
to offer to the family of the late Admiral Mahan a sincere 
expression of sympathy and to record their sense of the 
loss the British Empire has sustained by the termina- 
tion of the career of one who so generously appreciated 
the real work of the Royal Navy." 

20 



292 THE PEACEFUL END [chap, xxvi 

As soon as the news of the sudden and fatal termination 
of his illness reached the Government in Washington, 
the Navy Department made this announcement : 

" Admiral Mahan became famous as an author and 
historian in the early nineties, when his books on The 
Influence of Sea Power upon History and The Influence 
of Sea Power upon the French Revolution were published. 
These were followed by a Life of Nelson. These books 
were classics in their line, and were widely read through- 
out the world. In England and Germany in particular 
they received the highest commendation, and in every 
country possessing a navy they became veritable text- 
books in naval strategy. In England the leading naval 
men of the day confessed that it had remained for 
him to elucidate the work of the British Navy in a way 
that they themselves had never understood or even 
dreamed of. 

" Since his first books he has written many of lesser 
importance, and these and his essays have kept him 
before the world as the greatest modern writer on naval 
strategy. He was a close student of world politics, and 
his writings on the trend of the politics of the leading 
nations of the world were accepted as an authority. 
It may be safely said that no writer of modern times 
evinced a keener insight in the affairs of the world or 
expressed himself concerning them more clearly and 
convincingly than did the late Admiral Mahan. 

" His death will cause international regret, not 
only because of the high esteem in which he is held in 
every country of the world interested in naval affairs, 
but also because of the fact that his death leaves a void 
among naval and political authorities of the world that 
no author and writer can fill." 

This expressive letter was written to The Times ^ by 
Mahan's London publisher, Mr. R. B. Marston : 

" Sir, 

" It was with much regret that I saw the an- 
nouncement in The Times of December 2 of the death 
of Admiral A. T. Mahan, with whom for nearly a quarter 



1914] R. B. MARSTON 293 

of a century I have had very friendly relations, especially 
in connection with the publication in this and other 
countries of his great works on sea power. I should like 
to add my testimony to the charming courtesy which 
everyone who had any relations' with the Admiral always 
experienced from him, and also to the fact of his great 
love and admiration for our country, which he often 
expressed to me in conversation and in his letters. 

" I am sending the following copy of the last letter I 
received from him, little more than a month ago, because 
it is very characteristic, and, coming from such a pro- 
found student of naval power, very encouraging for our 
Empire and our Allies : 

" ' Mabshmeee, Quogue, Long Island, 

" ' October 14. 

" ' Dear Mr. Marston, 

" ' Many thanks for your letter of September 21, 
and for clipping enclosed. 

" ' Since you wrote, the misfortune to the three A.C.'s 
[i.e. the armoured cruisers Cressy, Hogue, and Aboukir] 
has occurred, and I saw yesterday that the Russians 
had also lost the Pallada. I have been surprised myself 
that such attempts have not been more frequent, and 
doubtless, if a full return of all submarine prowlings 
were obtainable, we should find many failures against 
each success. I have not shared Sir Percy Scott's dismal 
forebodings, believing that the question of the submarine 
would reduce itself to one of scouting and look-out ; yet 
I have not ventured so positive an adverse opinion as 
sometimes I see attributed to me. As regards the in- 
activity of the German Main Fleet, it is to be remem- 
bered that it is numerically much inferior. In an article 
written for one of our weeklies early in the war I gave 
the opinion that the Germans would first try to reduce 
the margin against them by torpedo attacks, and possibly 
by airships, and I have been accordingly surprised that 
no more has been attempted in the two months inter- 
vening. As regards the general course of the war, to- 
day's news is superficially discouraging, and I am dis- 
appointed that the Allies should have made so little 
impression on the lines of the Germans in France, while 



294 THE PEACEFUL END [chap, xxvi 

these were able to spare men enough to reduce Antwerp. 
Nevertheless, numbers and money will eventually tell, 
as in our Civil War, if the Allies persist to the end ; and 
in any case the British Fleet holds the decision in its 
hands, as in the days of Napoleon. I do not permit 
myself anxiety, though it is hard to avoid when so 
interested ; besides, I am sure that if Germany wins 
by a big margin she is likely to be nasty to us. Lord 
Roberts has a fine chance for " I told you so " as regards 
the need of your Army for greater numbers, if he wished 
to be disagreeable. 

" ' Myself and family are very well, though my seventy- 
four years, now complete, make themselves felt more and 
more. I have lost perceptibly in physical vigour during 
the summer. This winter we are to spend in Washing- 
ton instead of New York, I having been asked to do some 
research work there. 

*' ' With my most earnest interest in your nation's 
present and future, and my personal regards to 
yourself, 

" ' Yours sincerely, 

" ' A. T. Mahan.' 

" The last time Admiral Mahan was in London he 
expressed to me his astonishment that our country seemed 
to be so unaware of or so indifferent to the menacing 
attitude of Germany, and so deaf to the call of our King 
to ' Wake up.' It will be seen from his letter that he 
was under no delusions as to the danger to America 
should Germany and Austria break our power in this 
war ; in him we have lost a firm friend, a great admirer 
of our Fleet, and the man whose calm judicial pages are 
ablaze with its glorious deeds and tremendous world 
power. It is indeed heartening to know our faith 
in our Fleet was so fully shared by him. 

" I am, Sir, yours faithfully, 

" R. B. Marston. 

" SHEBEY^^LODGE, DENMARK HlLI,, S.E." 

In his last illness, after expressing admiration for many 
beautiful things in the world which in the activities of 



1914] AMONG THE IMMORTALS 295 

life are ordinarily overlooked, Mahan said, '"'' If a few 
more quiet years were granted me I might see and enjoy 
these things, hut God is just and I am content." 

From youth to the mellow autumn days of his earthly 
existence, he lived the life of an earnest Christian, and 
died as he had lived, leaving behind him a stainless 
record. 

Well done, Mahan ! Rest from your labours. The 
echo of your fame shall reverberate through the ages, 
even so long as men go down to the sea in ships. You 
were a credit to the Green Isle from which your grand- 
sire came ; you rendered an incomparable service to 
England and to France, whence your mother's forbears 
sprang ; and you have brought honour and renown to 
America, the land which gave you birth. You were 
the Rosetta Stone which revealed the hidden language 
of the seas. Your genius shall continue for all time to 
inspire those to whom posterity shall entrust the des- 
tinies of the great nations of the earth. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

SUMMARY 

" It ia not given to every author to achieve celebrity in his own Ufe- 
time ; still more rarely does he live to see his thoughts exercising a 
profound influence upon the minds of his contemporaries, shaping the 
evolution of nations, and dictating the policy of their Governments." — 
Austin Taylor, B.A.^ 

" A gentleman, young sir, I take it, is 'one born with the God-like 
capacity to think and feel for others, irrespective of their rank or 
condition. One who possesses an ideal so lofty, a mind so delicate, 
that it lifts him above all things ignoble, yet strengthens his hands to 
raise those who are fallen, no matter how low." — Jeffeby Farnol. 

Just where does Alfred Thayer Mahan stand in the 
ranks of great men ? Greatness is said to consist of a 
happy combination of commanding attributes of 
character, activity, and intellect, so rare as to raise their 
fortunate possessor conspicuously and permanently 
above the heads of his fellow-men. Under this definition 
his place is assuredly an exalted one. With but few 
exceptions, no American in recent times has been 
accorded so substantial a measure of recognition by 
accepted authorities in all parts of the world. 

To the mass of the people, even to those of the 
educated classes, the names of the eminent men of other 
countries, with the possible exception of one or two 
outstanding personalities, convey little more than the 
vague impressions created by newspaper reports of their 
activities from time to time. But the sea is common 
property, and, moreover, absorbs by far the greater part 

1 Inaugural Address as President of the Liverpool Philomathic 
Society. 

296 



MANKIND UNDER OBLIGATION 297 

of the surface of the globe. The subject of maritime 
control is in consequence one of cardinal and supreme 
importance to the citizens of all the nations of the earth. 
The words Sea Power and Mahan — the latter not in- 
frequently mispronounced ' — are inseparably connected 
in the public mind, and the reputation of Alfred Thayer 
Mahan rests upon the substantial fact that in the 
opinion of those best qualified to pass judgment, he 
expounded the all-momentous subject of sea power in 
so masterly and so scientific a fashion as to endow it 
with a new meaning, the profound significance of which 
has placed mankind under abundant and permanent 
obligation to him. 

A brief summary of a few of the innumerable expres- 
sions of opinion which have appeared in representative 
publications on both sides of the Atlantic may prove 
of interest in the pleasing occupation of attempting to 
assign to Mahan his rightful place in history. It has 
been said of him : 

"It is hardly too much to say that all modern naval 
thought has centred around Mahan. His historical in- 
sight has made his books indispensable to every student 
of international affairs. He was the chief inspiration of 
modern naval strategy. He had a wonderful knack of 
reducing complicated facts to first principles, and he 
consequently revolutionised public opinion on naval 
matters. His books will certainly live in naval literature, 
for they are based on great truths which have never 
been so clearly realised before, because they have never 
before been so well expressed. While historical matter 
was not new nor details always exact, the picture of the 
influence and importance of sea power was painted with 
a vividness, a power of language, and a wealth of illus- 
tration which were bound to carry conviction to every 
understanding mind. He had the power to see clearly 
and steadily to the heart of things and to allow no 

^ The family pronounce it Ma-han' : both a's aa in " fan " and the 
accent on the last syllable. 



298 SUMMARY [chap, xxvii 

elusive consideration to distract him from essentials. 
Although a master of war he was no militarist. He 
possessed the spirit of the historical analyst. The 
phrase ' Sea Power,' as applied though not invented by 
him, is one of those happy inspirations of genius which 
flash the light of philosophy on a whole department of 
human action. A judicial tone and impartial spirit 
characterised his writings. No historian and no writer 
of naval warfare has displayed so profound a grasp of 
the true meaning of sea power as a determining factor 
in human affairs. Mahan was incomparably the most 
brilliant exponent of the philosophy of naval history." 

Mahan was, in the best sense of the word, a statesman, 
which unhappily can be said of but few politicians. 
One of the essentials of the successful statesman, however, 
is a capacity to favourably impress men by the power 
of speech. Those who speak most effectively are wont 
to become our leaders, whether we like it or not, as the late 
Lord Salisbury used to say. This faculty Mahan did 
not possess. Moreover, he had a natural distaste for 
speaking in public, although his European experiences 
showed that when forced to do so he found no great 
difficulty in giving a creditable account of himself. It is 
more than possible that he might have become a good 
speaker had he been trained from his youth up to 
" think upon his feet " in such an atmosphere as that of 
the Debating Societies of the great Public Schools and 
Universities of England, a fair proportion of whose 
members ultimately blossom into the great spokesmen of 
English public life. Mahan was not considered a speci- 
ally good lecturer, despite the absorbing interest of his 
subject matter. His dispassionate exposition of the 
facts of early American history and his genuine admira- 
tion for the British Navy no doubt tended to deprive 
him in his own country of that full measure of popularity 
and public recognition to which he was so justly entitled. 

Irresistible literary tendencies, together with a 



HIS MENTAL HORIZON 299 

natural distaste for the routine and detail inseparable 
from the command of a battleship — he specially dis- 
liked the task of disciplining wayward members of the 
crew — combined to handicap him in his profession as a 
practical seaman, although there existed in his day no 
one more capable of advising upon sound strategy, in 
the execution of which sailors of the type of Farragut 
would probably have excelled him. It is only just to 
state, however, that he never enjoyed an opportunity of 
proving his ability to command a fleet, or even a battle- 
ship, in action. Admiral Bradley Fiske said of him : 

" Duty, in whatever form it came, was sacred. In- 
variably he gave to its performance the best that was 
in him. That he distinguished himself pre-eminently 
on shipboard cannot be claimed. Luck or circum- 
stances denied him the opportunity of doing things 
heroic, and his modesty those purely spectacular. As a 
subordinate or as captain of a single ship, what he did 
was well done. No further proof of his qualities in this 
respect is needed than the fact that, at the outbreak of 
the Civil War, when finishing his midshipman's cruise, 
he was asked by a shipmate, an officer who expected a 
command, to go with him as ' first lieutenant.' To his 
colleagues of the old Navy this invitation was the highest 
form of professional approval. The fates decreed that 
the wider field should not be his wherein, as commander- 
in-chief of a fleet in war time, he could have exhibited 
the mastery he surely possessed of that art with which 
his name will forever be indissolubly linked.*' 

While the average captain's mind would be engrossed 
in contemplation of his ship or the next port to which 
she was bound and the best and safest means of getting 
there, Mahan's mind contemplated navies and envisioned 
the map of the world, seeking out and placing in its 
proper sphere and in due degree of importance every 
strategic point, every trade route, and every national and 
international influence. As a writer in the Morning 
Post has pointed out, Mahan deals not only with strategy 



300 SUMMARY [chap, xxvii 

and tactics, but with the intimate relation existing 
between national life, national trade, national prosperity, 
and the use of the sea. What he calls the elements of 
sea power do not consist solely in fighting ships, or the 
Navy ; but in trade, geographical position, physical con- 
formation, extent of territory, number of population, 
national character, and form of government. 

At a meeting of The Royal United Service Institution 
in 1893, Professor Laughton said : 

" A short time ago I had the pleasure of receiving a 
letter from Captain Mahan, in which he spoke of having 
different opinions at different times ; that he thought, 
in military questions, it was not the mean of different 
opinions which was to be presumed to be the right ; 
that, more probably, the right is with one or the other 
of the opposing opinions, according to the different cir- 
cumstances, but that the mean in all cases is probably 
wrong. Students of history and strategy and tactics, 
he thought, should make themselves acquainted with 
both sides of a question, and be ready, when the time 
comes, to use that one which is best adapted to the 
circumstances." 

In stature Mahan was tall and erect, standing well over 
six feet in height ; of slight build, but wiry and athletic 
and of distinguished appearance. His eyes, in which a 
far-away look was at times discernible, were pale blue, 
and he was of fair complexion, with hair, moustache, 
and closely trimmed Vandyke beard of sandy colour, 
which turned white as age advanced. As will be seen 
from his photographs baldness overtook him in his later 
years. He was soft and gentle in voice, with a pleasant 
but reserved manner. It was said of him at The Hague 
that there was not a little of romance in his eyes, which 
were tinged with gentle melancholy and had a dreamy 
far-off look. Not the look of the man at the wheel on 
the watch for a distant object, but something inward 
and reflective. Yet there was much strength in the 



PERSONAL TRAITS 301 

structure of his face, which betokened firm and per- 
sistent purpose. He was so shy that he consistently 
avoided interviewers, and so conscientious as to being 
accurately reported that he invariably wrote down 
anything that was to be published. To intimate friends, 
however, he was wont to reveal an unsuspected wealth of 
entertaining stories. Although immaculate in his person, 
he set no great store by clothes, leaving almost entirely 
to his wife and daughters the obligation of seeing to it 
that he was suitably dressed. At The Hague in 1899 he 
probably escaped their watchful eyes, because close 
examination of the group in which portraits of the 
American delegates to the Peace Conference were to be 
handed down to posterity discloses the fact that he 
appears to have sat for the photograph in a pair of house 
slippers ! a characteristic touch. As a young officer, 
however, he feelingly complained of the lack of smart- 
ness in the American naval uniform of the day and 
the consequent sense of uneasiness experienced when 
mingling with officers of other navies on dressy 
occasions. 

He was a good husband and a kind considerate father, 
always just, although strict, with his children. He was 
happy in his home life. He advised Mrs. Vernon-Mann, 
a close friend of the family, to see that her sons thor- 
oughly understood the meaning of obedience before 
they were three years old, for he considered that after 
that age it was too late. For which piece of advice Mrs. 
Vernon-Mann holds that she is more indebted to him 
than to all the books she has read about the psychology 
of children. Mahan was extremely conscientious in 
training his children, and always took pains to under- 
stand their point of view and careful to make his own 
clear. His method, so far as possible, was to make the 
child choose what was good, and in punishing to " make 
the punishment fit the crime." He never punished when 
angry, but waited until calm and then coolly and im- 



802 SUMMARY [chap, xxvii 

partially administered justice — though never forgetting 
the proper amount of mercy. Again and again his 
answer to the common complaint of the impossibility of 
carrying out a command was " Very well, my dear, you 
needn't ; only you can't go out until you do," a method 
which proved most efficacious. In giving cither pleasure 
or pain his chief aim was to avoid caprice. When his 
permission was asked for some treat or other, his rule was 
to inquire, " What does your mother say ? " Which once 
brought from a little daughter who shared with him a 
knowledge of French ^ the exasperated retort, A quoi hon 
les papas si les mamans arrangent tout ? In every rela- 
tion of life, both public and private, he governed each 
act according to his ideas of right and wrong ; and nothing 
was right, in his opinion, that disregarded either justice 
or truth or charity. He had at times to do very un- 
pleasant things and to inflict pain upon others, but he 
never shirked doing what he believed to be right. 

Mahan was a constant and reliable friend when his 
confidence was once gained. His apparent aloofness 
melted into kindness on closer acquaintance, and his 
personal manners were such as have been said to unlock 
doors that neither wealth nor position can open. To 
those who enjoyed the rare privilege of his friendship he 
was a charming companion. He was a man who 
strongly believed in vigorous daily exercise, and he would 
ride his bicycle and walk without undue effort a number 
of miles that would baffle most men of his age. He 
considered one of the chief happinesses in life to consist 
in plenty of occupation. He wrote his superb Life of 
Nelson between his fifty-sixth and fifty-eighth years, 
and he continued to write for publication until his 
seventy-third year. Few have such a record to their 
credit, although delightful old Izaak Walton wrote 
The Life of George Herbert when he was seventy-seven and 

^ Portions of some of his note-books are written in French. 




ADMIRAL MAHAN AND HIS GRANDSON. 



302] 



1, 



SCRUPULOUS HONESTY 303 

The Life of Doctor Sanderson in his eighty-fifth year. 
Mahan greatly enjoyed surf bathing and neglected no 
opportunity for a vigorous swim in the sea. He was 
fond of riding, although in later life he had few oppor- 
tunities to indulge in this form of exercise. He created 
a mild sensation among the more supersensitive of his 
Long Island neighbours by riding his bicycle in his shirt- 
sleeves when the weather was sultry. 

He was scrupulously honest and punctilious in his 
personal and official obligations. When in residence 
as President of the Naval War College at Newport he 
would not allow his children to use even one of the 
Government pencils. The members of his family tell 
amusing stories of the terrors of passing through a 
Custom House with him owing to the conscientious 
nature of his dealings with Custom House officials. No 
trouble was too great to make certain that the informa- 
tion given was absolutely accurate in every detail. 

Mahan was of the self-contained type, fully cognisant 
of what contented him and satisfied his tastes and 
aspirations. His convictions were based on experience 
and common sense. Neither prejudice nor partiality 
influenced his considered judgments. He was fortun- 
ately free from the bane of provincialism. Discussing 
in a letter to a friend the engrossing topic of the choice 
of a permanent abode in the peaceful autumn days of 
life, he said : 

" I notice our millionaires are as uneasy as a parched 
pea — they can do anything they want to, but they don't 
know what they want. What I know of London I like 
exceedingly, and if I were entirely free from predisposing 
causes (which no one is) would, I think, choose it in pre- 
ference to any place I know for a steady residence." 

He was, on grounds of public policy, opposed to female 
suffrage. He viewed the outcome with anxiety. Who 
can now estimate the benefit to the country were the two 



304 SUMMARY [chap, xxvii 

outstanding twentieth-century potentialities for good and 
evil, the Press and Wommi Enfranchised, to devote 
their incomparable influence and their energies and their 
ballots to the supreme mission of promoting the welfare 
of the community ? 

In a letter to the author, Mr. Arthur Balfour accur- 
ately typifies Mahan when he says : 

' I have always taken a great interest in Mahan' s 
work, and count myself among his earliest and most 
enthusiastic admirers. My personal acquaintance with 
him was slight ; but I do not doubt that his character 
was admirably reflected in his writings." 

It was. The outstanding features of Mahan' s works 
are lucidity and sincerity, crystal clear, based on sound 
knowledge and convictions and inspired by the highest 
ideals. He was entirely frank and open as to his 
personal inclinations and preferences, and was an 
avowed admirer of pretty women, as was his father 
before him. He candidly enjoyed the cheery society 
of his daughters' girl friends, and in his letters to 
his family when he was abroad he was wont to refer 
with boyish enthusiasm to good-looking women whom 
he met in Society in England. An indication of the 
calibre of his personal qualities is afforded by the fact 
that he won the esteem of worth-while folk. 

He was of the distinctly absent-minded type, and 
following in the footsteps of his father, he would become 
so absorbed in his thoughts as to render him unconscious 
of his surroundings. His family could recount many 
instances of his having complained of not being told of 
circumstances that had been carefully explained to him 
on occasions when he was lost in a brown study, immersed 
doubtless in the convolutions of seventy-four gun ships- 
of-the-line in some great battle of bygone days. He 
shared the old salt's admiration for a sailing ship as a 



AT HEART A REFORMER 305 

thing of beauty and life, yet Admiral Bradley Fiske 
says : 

" Not only have the writings of Mahan brought about 
an increase in the sea power oi every great country ; 
but this increase has so aroused the attention of the 
engineering professions that the improvement of ships, 
engines, and other sea material has gone ahead faster 
than all the other engineering arts." 

Mahan was at heart a reformer. In the seventies he 
made heroic attempts to purge the United States Navy 
of some highly undesirable political influences. A clue 
to his innate strength of character may be found in this 
admission, written to a friend when he was a midship- 
man : "I believe that my heart once set on a thing, 
everything save honor, affection, morality, everything 
becomes subordinate." It was his persistence in pressing 
home his incontrovertible arguments that eventually 
routed the forces of the Little Navyites in England. 

He had something of the martyr in his composition. 
In his own words : " Bitter as was the humiliation, it 
was less bitter than yielding my convictions would have 
been. I am so constituted that no advantage can 
repay me for stifling my sense of right." His strong 
aversion to the Turks is emphasised in the following 
extract : "I have an intense desire that the Christians 
may finally drive the Turks out of Europe, and that if 
England interferes again to uphold the Crescent that 
she may get a good thrashing, as she will deserve." 
He was a keen advocate of Anglo-American friendship. 
To Mr. Ashe he wrote : 

" To this I would add, throw overboard the Irish vote 
(if you dare) and pursue a policy not of formal alliance 
but of close sympathy, based on common ideas of justice, 
law, freedom, and honesty with England. France is 
what she has called Albion, ' perfide ' — England is like 
every other nation, selfish ; but in the main honest, and 



306 SUMMARY [chap, xxvii 

the best hope of the world is in the union of the branches 
of that race to which she and we belong." 

Mahan was essentially a teacher. Although by no 
means infallible — as, for instance, in regard to certain 
incidents of battleship construction and equipment — 
the chief lessons he taught are imperishable and precious 
beyond calculation. They have already borne tangible 
fruit and have contributed more than can be readily 
estimated towards the success of the gigantic task of 
saving humanity from passing under the blood-stained 
heel of Prussianism. No monument, however, has yet 
been erected to his memory,^ nor has his family received 
any substantial recognition of his services to the nation. 
Time, the great and inevitable adjudicator, will doubt- 
less reveal this world-renowned son of America in his 
true light. 

There is ample evidence that in the last few months 
of his life Mahan suffered acute mental distress about 
the war and the part he had played — although entirely 
unpremeditated — in stimulating the growth of the 
German Navy, thereby contributing to make possible 
the crime of August 1914, with its appalling menace to 
his own country. This anxiety doubtless reacted upon 
his powers of physical resistance and tended to hasten 
his end. A century ago Napoleon said he was not a man 
hut an event. In the light of the dramatic naval events 
of the colossal upheaval of this century, Mahan was both. 
The study of most history is a matter of education and 
training, the study of Mahan is a matter of national 
safety. 

Alfred Thayer Mahan will live in the memory of the 
ages. He was a courteous, dignified, well-bred man of 
irreproachable character and deeply religious nature. 
Reserved and retiring, given to silence and profound 
thought, yet inwardly enjoying an appreciative sense of 

^ One of the new American destroyers has been named Mahan. 



IMPERISHABLE FAME 307 

humour. He was pre-eminently a just man, and was of 
generous disposition. Throughout his hfe his actions 
were controlled by an all-determining devotion to duty. 
He conscientiously resisted and brought into subjection 
an inherited predisposition towards irritability of 
temper. He was modest and unassuming, but a stranger 
to fear. Exceptionally energetic, both mentally and 
physically, he was well able to hold his own in any 
company when occasion demanded. He was a philo- 
sopher rather than an historian ; a strategist rather than 
a tactician ; brilliant in the supreme council chamber 
rather than on the quarter-deck ; a statesman, not a 
politician ; a controversialist, not a debater. He 
acquired imperishable fame by bringing new-world 
ingenuity to bear upon the treatment and presentation 
of old-world historical facts of supreme importance. 
As an exponent of sea power he stands without a peer 
in the annals of literature. 

As in past days of unhappy conflict, so in approaching 
years of joyous peace, nay rather as long as this globe 
and its myriad watery highways endure, men shall 
acclaim the great American naval philosopher, whose 
genius immeasurably contributed to save modern 
civilisation through the mighty influence of sea power, 
with which for all time shall be associated the name of 
Mahan. 



21 



APPENDIX 

BRITAIN AND THE GERMAN NAVY 

ADMIRAL MAHAN'S WARNING 

The " Daily Mail" Wednesday^ July 6, 1910. Reproduced 
by the courtesy of the Editor of the " Daily Mail." 

The huge development of the German Navy within the past 
decade, and the assurance that the present rate of expendi- 
ture — over £20,000,000 annually — will be maintained for 
several years to come, is a matter of general international 
importance. Elsewhere, and in another connection, I have 
had occasion to point out, in the American Press, that the 
question immediately raised is not what Germany means to 
do with this force, which already is second only to that of 
Great Britain, and for which is contemplated a further large 
expansion. The real subject for the reflection of every 
person, statesman or private, patriotically interested in his 
country's future, is the ample existence present, and still 
more prospective, of a new international factor, to be i:eck- 
oned with in all calculations where oppositions of national 
interests may arise. 

From this point of view it is not particularly interesting 
to inquire whether Germany has any far-reaching purposes 
of invading Great Britain or of dismembering her Empire ; 
nor yet whether, on the other side of the ocean, she pur- 
poses no longer in future contingencies to show that respect 
for the Monroe doctrine which she hitherto has observed, 
much to American satisfaction. Americans, while giving 
full credit to Germany for the most friendly intentions 
towards them, have to note that in the future she can do as 
she pleases about the Monroe doctrine, so far as our intended 
organisation of naval force goes, because she will be 

308 



APPENDIX 309 

decidedly stronger at sea than we in the United States expect 
to be, and we have over her no miUtary check such as the 
interests of Canada impose upon Great Britain. 

The Right Attitude for Great Britain 

Similarly, the people of Great Britain should not depend 
upon apprehension of Germany's intentions to attack in 
order to appraise their naval necessities and awaken their 
determinations. Resolutions based upon such artificial 
stimulus are much like the excitement of drink, liable to 
excess in demonstration, as well as to misdirection and 
ultimate collapse in energy, as momentary panic is succeeded 
by reaction. Unemotional business-like recognition of facts, 
in their due proportions, befits national policies, to be fol- 
lowed by well-weighed measures corresponding to the 
exigency of the discernible future. This is the manly way, 
neither over-confident nor over-fearful ; above all, not 
agitated. Of such steadfast attitude, timeliness of pre- 
caution is an essential element. Postponement of precaution 
is the sure road to panic in emergency. An English naval 
worthy of two centuries ago aptly said, "It is better to be 
afraid now than next summer when the French fleet will 
be in the Channel." 

In this characteristic of precautionary action a democracy 
like that of Great Britain stands at a grave disadvantage 
towards a people like the German, accustomed to a strong 
Government. A German writer ^ has said recently, " In 
Germany we hold a strong independent Government, assisted 
by a democratic Parliament, to be a better scheme than the 
continual change of party rule customary in England." This 
was substantially the view of James I and Charles I in 
England, and we know what came of it ; but it is the German 
position to-day. Few Englishmen or Americans will accept 
it ; I certainly do not ; but for the organisation of force in 
the hands of a capable Government, such as that of Germany 
has shown itself hitherto to be, the scheme is much more 
efficient, because the plain people of a parliamentary country 
— the voters — refuse to think about international or military 

1 Hans Delbruck, Contemporary Review, October 1909, p. 406. My 
italics. 



310 APPENDIX 

matters. Yet it is they who make and unmake Govern- 
ments, now one party, now the other ; and the Government's 
outlook upon international preparation is always qualified 
by a look over the shoulder at the voters. This is much less 
the case where the people have behind them the tradition 
of being disregarded comparatively. True, no Government, 
not the most autocratic, can wholly disregard national feeling. 
The question is one of more or less ; and as between Germany 
and Great Britain, Government in Germany is, as Govern- 
ment, much more efficient for organised action, even though 
it make less for the kind of development which follows 
personal freedom from constraint. 

The Navy Becoming Less Popular 

This is the fundamental condition which the British 
democracy of to-day have to recognise as regards their national 
security, upon which their economic future — their food, 
clothing, and housing — depends : that they stand face to 
face with a nation one-fourth more numerous than them- 
selves, and one more highly organised for the sustainment by 
force of a national policy. It is so because it has a Govern- 
ment more efficient in the ordering of national life, in that 
it can be, and is, more consecutive in purpose than one 
balanced unsteadily upon the shoulders of a shifting popular 
majority. Fortunately for Great Britain the popular tradi- 
tion of the national need for a great Navy still supplies to 
some extent and for the moment a steadying hand ; but to 
one following from a distance the course of British action in 
late years it certainly has seemed that this conviction is less 
operative ; that its claims to allegiance are less felt and more 
disputed. Yet, in case of national reverse, following upon 
national failure to prepare, it is the democracy, the voters, 
who will be responsible ; the voters also who will suffer. 

The prolonged formal peace which Europe has enjoyed 
for thirty years affords a precise illustration of the ineffective- 
ness of populaces to realise external dangers. Continuance 
of peace induces a practical disbelief in the possibility of war, 
and practical disbeliefs soon result in practical action, or non- 
action. Yet observant men know that there have been 
at least three wars in this so-called period of peace ; wars 



APPENDIX 311 

none the less because no blows were exchanged, for force 
determined the issues. The common phrase for such trans- 
actions is " the risk of war has been averted," The expres- 
sion is dangerously misleading, because it is supposed that 
the controlling element in this ' conclusion has been the 
adroitness of statesmen, whereas the existence and calculation 
of force have been really determinative. Force, too, not 
merely in the raw material, but the organised force of armies 
and navies ready — or unready — to move. " I had thought," 
wrote the American General Sherman, " that the War of 
Secession was settled by the armed forces of the nation, but 
at a recent public dinner of lawyers I have learned that it 
was done by the Courts." 

The Weakness of Insular Communities 

Such misconception is peculiarly liable to arise in com- 
munities insular by position like Great Britain, or remote 
from the great nations of the world as is the United States. 
The measure of security from external aggression which such 
conditions confer — the " water- walled bulwark " of Shake- 
speare — favours greatly that free internal development for 
which democracy is probably the most effective of instru- 
ments. But the sense of this security, removing the pressure 
felt by less happily situated peoples, begets an optimistic 
attitude towards external dangers, fostering unreadiness for 
war at the same time that it lessens dependence upon organised 
government. Other national qualities being equal. Conti- 
nental frontiers promote the establishment of government 
effective for external action. As we all know, the Roman 
democracy illustrated this fact by the institution of the 
dictatorship for emergencies. 

For these reasons insular democracies are lax and in- 
efficient in preparation for war, and in natural consequence 
their wars have been long and expensive. But wars in the 
future cannot be long, though they may be expensive : ex- 
pensive of much beside their immediate cost ; expensive in 
advantages lost and in indemnities exacted. Democracies 
can no longer afford to neglect preparation, relying upon 
their strength of endurance and faculty for recovery which 
probably may exceed that of less free institutions. The 



312 APPENDIX 

time for recovery will not be conceded to them any more 
than it is by a capable general to a routed foe. The only 
provision of time for recovery open to modern conditions is 
the time of preparation. 

What reason is there in the nature of things that the 
British democracy should not maintain an Army propor- 
tionally as great as that of Germany ? None, except that the 
British democracy will not. The national wealth is vastly 
greater ; but notwithstanding this, which indicates not only 
a certain greater power but a much greater stake, the national 
will so to prepare does not exist. Many distinguished 
Englishmen advocate measures tending to this result — to 
the nation in arms ; but I doubt if anyone outside of Great 
Britain expects to see it. 

There remains the Fleet ; and it is the privilege of insular 
democracies that they can pursue the quiet tenor of their way 
behind the bulwark of a fleet efficient in numbers — that is, 
in great preponderance — as well as in intrinsic worth. But 
note that a State thus favoured is militarily in the same 
position essentially as one that hires an army of mercenaries. 
The only difference is that the seamen are fellow citizens ; 
an immense distinction, it will be granted, but it does not 
invalidate the fact that the mass of citizens are paying a 
body of men to do their fighting for them. It follows that 
the least the mass can do in self-respect as for security is to 
pay amply and timely for the efficiency of the body they thus 
employ. If they do not pay " with their persons," as the 
French say, they should with their cash. But the only 
adequate payment is timely payment — preparation. 

Great Britain's Unparalleled Problem 

Democracies have had various tasks thrown upon them at 
various times, but never perhaps one equal in difficulty to 
that which confronts the democracy of Great Britain. As 
it now stands the British Empire territorially is an inherit- 
ance from times not democratic, and the world is interested 
to see whether the heir will prove equal to his fortune. There 
are favourable signs ; one of the most so that has met my 
eye has been the decision of the Labour Government in 
Australia that in time of war the Australian Navy should be 



APPENDIX 313 

at the absolute disposal of the British Admiralty. Such 
sentiment, realised in commensurate action, is effective 
imperial democracy. But my reading has not found the 
corresponding reflection of this determination in the British 
Labour Party at home ; rather, it has seemed to me, a dis- 
position to undervalue the necessity of preponderant naval 
force even in European waters. 

The security of the British Empire, taken as a whole with 
many parts, demands first the security of the British Islands 
as the corner stone of the fabric ; and, second, the security 
of each of the outlying parts. This means substantially 
British control, in power if not in presence, of the com- 
munications between the central kingdom and the Dominions. 
This relation is essentially the same as that of a military base 
of operations to the front of the operations themselves. 

The New Grouping 

In the present condition of Europe the creation of the 
German Fleet, with its existing and proposed development, 
has necessitated the concentration in British waters of more 
than four-fifths of the disposable British battle force. These 
facts constitute Germany the immediate antagonist of Great 
Britain. I do not say for a moment that this manifests 
Germany's purpose ; I simply state the military and inter- 
national fact without inference as to motives. The geo- 
graphical situation of the two States reproduces precisely 
that of England and Holland in the early days of Cromwell. 
It was not till the nations had fought and the Dutch were 
reduced, less by battle than by trade destruction, that the 
relief of pressure in the North Sea enabled English action 
abroad. This result was attained more satisfactorily forty 
years later by the alliance of the two States under the impulse 
of a great common danger ; but whether that alliance would 
have been feasible without the antecedent settlement by trial 
of strength is disputable. In the course of the earlier war 
the Mediterranean was abandoned by the English Navy in 
order to concentrate in home waters, and this concentration, 
coupled with the commanding position of the British Islands 
with reference to Dutch trade routes, determined then the 
issue. 



314 APPENDIX 

The British Navy to-day has in great degree abandoned 
the Mediterranean for a similar concentration. Over four- 
fifths of the battleship force is in the " Home " and 
" Atlantic " divisions. The Mediterranean has fallen from 
eleven battleships in 1899 to six in 1910, and these six are of 
distinctly inferior power. What is the contemporary signi- 
ficance of this fact reproductive of a situation near three 
centuries ago ? Constitutive, too, of a situation now novel ; 
for during more than two centuries British preponderance 
in the Mediterranean has been a notable international factor. 
The significance, as read by an outsider, is that in the opinion 
of the Government, under present conditions of preparation, 
the security of the British Islands requires the weakening, 
almost to abandonment, of the most delicate, yet very essen- 
tial link in the system of communications of the Empire. 

It is entirely true that for the moment the naval concen- 
tration at home, coupled with the tremendous positional 
advantage of Great Britain over German trade routes, con- 
stitutes a great measure of security ; and, further, that the 
British waters, occupied as they now are, do effectually inter- 
pose between Germany and the British oversea Dominions. 
The menacing feature in the future is the apparent indisposi- 
tion and slackness of the new voters of the last half-century 
over against the resolute spirit and tremendous faculty for 
organising strength evident in Germany. 

The Future Peril 

An examination of present and probable future European 
international relations is plainly incompatible with my 
space ; but speaking as an onlooker, studying these, and 
following the tone as well as the words of parliamentary 
debates, I have thought to see the growth of a spirit which 
threatens to leave Great Britain unprepared to hold her own, 
and to sustain her Empire in the very probable contingencies 
ahead. Impelled to weigh these seriously, the impression 
has gained ground, against a steady previous conviction 
that Great Britain would prove equal to her fortunes. 

In a recent American magazine ^ a German writer, reported 

1 McClure's Magazine, June 1910, p. 223. " The United States 
and the War Cloud in Europe." By Theodor Schiemann. 



APPENDIX 315 

to be a trusted confidential friend of the Emperor, has said, 
" The weak man cannot trust his judge, and the dream 
of the peace advocate is nothing but a dream." The con- 
centration of the battle fleet in home waters is correct ; the 
relative abandonment of the Mediterranean for that purpose, 
if for the moment only, is likewise correct, especially as the 
" Atlantic " fleet may be considered an intermediate body, 
a reserve, able to move eastward or southward as conditions 
require ; but the clear reluctance to acquiesce in present 
naval requirements is ominous of a day when the Mediter- 
ranean may pass out of the sphere of British influence, centred 
round the British Islands exclusively. This will symbolise, 
if it does not at once accompany, the passing of the Empire ; 
for a hostile force in the Mediterranean controls not only 
an interior line — as compared with the Cape route — but an 
interior position, from which it is operative against the 
Atlantic as well as in the East, 

It is difficult to overstate the effect of this upon the solidity 
of the Empire, for the Mediterranean is one of the great 
central positions of the maritime world. A weakened 
Mediterranean force is the symptom that neither as principal 
nor as ally may Great Britain be able to play the part hitherto 
assumed by her in the great drama of which the awakening 
of the East is the present act ; while among the dramatis 
personcB are Egypt, India, Australia, and New Zealand. 

A. T. Mahan. 

BRITAIN AND THE WORLD'S PEACE. THE SAL- 
VATION FROM WAR IS READINESS FOR WAR 

By Admiral A. T. Mahan, U.S.N. 

The ''Daily Mail,'' October 31, 1910. Reproduced by 
courtesy of the Editor of the " Daily Mail " 

In an article, " Britain and the German Navy," published in 
the Daily Mail of July 6, I said quite incidentally that " an 
examination of present and probable future European inter- 
national relations was incompatible with the space " de- 
manded by the subject immediately in hand. I have been 
asked to develop the thought underlying this remark. 



A 



316 APPENDIX 

In a study of the interest of America in international con- 
ditions, made several months ago and passing through the 
Press as I now write, I ventured to remark that, whatever 
the internal troubles or external ambitions of Austria-Hun- 
gary, she is bound to Germany by nearness, by inferior power, 
and by interests partly common to the two States, as surely as 
the moon is bound to the earth and with it constitutes a single 
group in the planetary system. I have consequently been 
interested and instructed to observe in The Times of Sep- 
tember 21 that, on the occasion of the German Emperor's 
recent visit to Vienna, " the standpoint everywhere adopted 
by the Viennese Press," presumably representative of public 
opinion, " is that, in view of the support unhesitatingly 
given by the German Emperor to Austria-Hungary in the 
annexation crisis, the Austro-German alliance has been 
recognised by the world to be an institution so compactly built 
that the countries forming it belong in some measure to 
each other." 

The Position of Austria 

The simile, therefore, is justified by the appreciation of the 
weaker party to the combination. Whatever the internal 
clashes of the somewhat loosely united districts and variant 
races that constitute Austria-Hungary, they have in their 
neighbour Servia a perpetual reminder of the lot awaiting 
small communities when they desire to remain independent 
and yet be considered by the world. The lesson has been 
emphasised by the inability of Greece and Crete to draw their 
chestnuts out of the fire of the Turkish Revolution, as com- 
pared with the success attending Bulgaria and Austria in 
the same crisis ; while, more recently still, the adverse action 
of Roumania towards Bulgaria in behalf of the Turk indicates 
the troubles that might befall the Austrian provinces if de- 
prived of the common tie of a common Sovereign. The 
present weight of Germany in international relations, the 
outgrowth of the past century, is chiefly due to the realisa- 
tion of the value of union by many small States once inde- 
pendent and discordant. 

However imperfect and dissentient the internal union of 
the Austrian Empire, it is for each of the constituent mem- 



APPENDIX 317 

bers better than dissolution of the existing bond. Similarly, 
the alliance with Germany, though the latter be necessarily 
the preponderant partner, is better than isolation in presence 
of powerful neighbours and of the unstable conditions of 
the Balkans. Not that the inequality "between the two 
constitutes a condition of protector and protected. The 
reciprocity of benefit was gracefully admitted by the German 
Emperor in his speech at Vienna. " The alliance has, to the 
weal of the world, passed into and, like an imponderable 
element, pervaded the convictions and the life of both 
peoples." 

The Motive of Alliances 

This reciprocity of benefit means, of course, community 
of interest, and interest is the sole stable element in the rela- 
tions of States. No man has lived to be old without abund- 
ant occasion to recognise the instability of other motives in 
the actions of bodies politic. In the case of Austria-Hungary 
and Germany this community of interest depends largely 
upon nearness, upon continuousness of territory — often a 
source of disagreements, but not so when both parties are 
subject to strong external pressures and dangers, or when 
their respective desires tend to ends which will be mutually 
beneficial. There need only be mentioned Russia, the 
Balkans, and the controlling position of Great Britain over 
the sea communications of Germany, to show that in the 
mere nature of things strong external pressures exist for both 
allies ; a condition emphasised by the artificial factor of the 
Triple Entente. So each step in the southward pressing of 
Austria-Hungary will inure to the benefit of the German 
Empire by causing the alliance to span more effectively the 
space between the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and the North 
Sea ; while Austria-Hungary herself will gain in international 
consideration should she succeed in achieving an open coast 
frontier on the Mediterranean equivalent to that of Germany 
on the North Sea. The centre of gravity around which the 
alliance revolves will be shifted if the smaller should attain 
the maritime development which, above all other single 
factors, constitutes now the unity of the German Empire. 

The ultimate result now is, and for an unmeasurable future 



318 APPENDIX 

must be, to confirm the alliance, which may be defined most 
accurately as that of Middle Europe. In my judgment, this 
is the one great determinative factor in the present and pro- 
spective international relations of Europe. But while this is 
the main central fact, the unencumbered realisation of which 
is essential to clear appreciation, it is itself surrounded by an 
intricate complexity of circumstances, not necessarily arising 
from it, even indirectly, but yet inevitably affected by it, as 
the movements of the heavenly bodies are by the omnipresent 
influence of gravity, modifying or disturbing their proper 
motions. All Europe, and because all Europe the whole 
world, is swayed in some measure by the existing solidarity 
of Middle Europe, with its immense organisation of force. 

Turkey and the Triple Alliance 

A striking illustration of such effect is the rumoured, and 
probable, attraction of the new Turkish Government towards 
the Triple Alliance. Whether true or not, and to whatso- 
ever extent advanced, it is in the nature of things that rela- 
tive geographical situation, together with the consolidated 
power of Middle Europe, should create this deflection from 
the groupings of the Crimean War. Russia has been critic- 
ally weakened by her recent war, a result to which Great 
Britain contributed decisively by her treaty with Japan ; 
and the weakness of Russia has meant a great increase in 
strength to the Mid-Europe Alliance. Sixty years ago, 
Russia being mighty, and Prussia and Austria having clash- 
ing interests, Turkey in her distress turned naturally to the 
Western Powers for aid, and these, controlling the sea, were 
able to place their armies on shores where no opposing forces 
were to be feared save the immediate enemy, and he com- 
pelled there to exertions more remote from the centre of his 
strength than they from theirs, in that his lines of com- 
munication were more arduous. To-day, if serious troubles 
should arise in that tinder-box the Near East, the only great 
land power capable of exertion on the spot is that of the 
Triple Alliance. This, by numbers and organisation, so over- 
bears all competitors, or any possible combination of com- 
petitors, that it is completely master of the situation on shore. 
It is so because Russia for the moment is eliminated. Singly, 



APPENDIX 319 

even without her recent defeats, she might not have equalled 
the alliance ; but allied to France she would have constituted 
a menace so serious as to qualify decisively all opposing action. 
The Triple Entente was born too late. It should have ante- 
dated, not postdated, the Russo-Japanese War. 

India and Egypt 

Another direct result of that war has been to precipitate 
the commotion in Eastern nationalities, of which the " un- 
rest " of India and Egypt are conspicuous instances. These 
are so much in the public eye as to need no insistence, save 
to remark that they affect the Powers of Western Europe 
mainly in a weakening direction ; whereas for those of Middle 
Europe, which have small possessions in the East, they con- 
stitute the opportunity which, when waters are troubled, is 
associated proverbially with those who have not. They stand 
to lose nothing, with the possibility of gaining something, as 
Austria-Hungary has done by the incorporation of Bosnia 
and Herzegovina. It is trite to repeat the frequent remark 
that detached and dispersed possessions, like those of the 
British Empire and of France, are positions of exposure ; 
but it is expedient to bear in mind that they are doubly so 
when popular disaffection or the seeds of such disaffection 
exist in them. 

It is impossible, I suppose, to prevent ill-feeling when a new 
and powerful rival appears upon the scene of commerce. It 
can rarely soothe the feelings to be disturbed in the pos- 
session of that which one has come to regard as secure ; and 
history seems to demonstrate that, while great Navies may 
be called into being without an immediate necessity for the 
protection of shipping — as is now the case in the United 
States and has been in Russia — the development of a 
mercantile marine is followed pretty surely by the creation 
of a Navy to safeguard it. 

The Coming of the Dreadnought 

Given these conditions, the existing rivalry between Great 
Britain and Germany was pretty sure to result in ill-feeling, 
and gradually to be exasperated. Then the adoption of the 



320 APPENDIX 

Dreadnought, instituting a new type of warship, has enabled 
Germany to enter upon a race of construction, with but httle 
start against her, in the struggle to be preponderant at the 
future moment when the ante-Dreadnoughts shall be con- 
fessedly obsolete. The competition in all directions has been 
severe, and is closer and more threatening because Great 
Britain has not attained, and cannot in any near future attain, 
the organising governmental control over the exertions of her 
people that Germany is able to exercise, giving concentra- 
tion of purpose and continuousness of aim. 

The inter-relations of the European States at any par- 
ticular moment constitute the basis, the military base, upon 
which rests the influence of Europe as a whole upon the 
politics of the world. In that grouping, at the present time, 
the central and preponderant fact is the Mid-Europe Alli- 
ance, not only because it is the greatest single factor, but 
because it alone is a strictly natural combination. The 
adhesion to it of Italy has, indeed, reasons of policy, but 
they are complex and alloyed : " partly iron, partly miry 
clay." The Triple Entente is purely artificial ; a result 
of the Mid-Europe Alliance itself, but without the in- 
trinsic strength. It is a reacti©n from the Alliance ; but 
in this case reaction does not equal action in power. Its one 
leading motive is opposition — defensive ; and it is a com- 
monplace that mere opposition, simple defence, is not in 
progressive force the equivalent of a positive policy. To an 
aggressive action, such as the annexations of 1908, mere 
opposition wavers in its parry, especially when two or more 
parties have to agree upon a common course, in deter- 
mining which each remembers its particular interests. I am 
not here pronouncing an opinion upon the propriety of the 
annexations, but merely noting an illustration of a general 
fact, to be observed in most combinations the motive to 
which is not action but opposition ; negative, not positive. 

The German Army To-day 

The weakness due to lack of unanimity of aims, and of 
consequent motive, is increased by the geographical dis- 
tribution of the members of the Triple Entente, and the effect 
of that upon their aggregate military strength. The territory 



APPENDIX 321 

of Austria-Hungary and Germany forms a continuous mass, 
closely linked up by a highly developed railway system, in 
the designing of which strategic considerations as well as 
commercial have had a large share. The present generation 
of the German Army has had little fighting, but its reputation 
as a highly trained and efficient organisation is unim- 
paired ; while under the test of mobilisation, at the time 
of the annexations, that of Austria-Hungary is said to have 
given satisfactory proofs. In view of the late war, the same 
can scarcely be assumed as to the Russian Army. Upon that 
of France I am incompetent to form an opinion. 

Granting it, however, to be equivalent in efficiency to those 
of the Mid-Europe monarchies, there is great disparity 
of numbers, and an impossibility of the cohesive action 
between Russia and France that is open to Austria- 
Hungary and Germany. In short, the latter possess central 
position and interior lines against the other two, assuming 
the several groups to be enemies, as they are internationally 
antagonistic for the moment. 

Such military conditions are, and always must be, opera- 
tive political considerations, in peace as in war. Such 
circumstances govern the world now as they have in the past. 
They are the instruments, or it may be the fetters, of the 
statesman's policy. Perfect assurance may be felt on all 
parts that war with a strong Power will not be provoked 
in this age by any Government, unless it be one of fatalistic 
tendency and somewhat desperate fortunes, in which case 
willingness would be a misnomer for necessity. The 
balance of forces influences continually and decisively the 
solutions of diplomacy ; and such a condition is really war, 
even though no shot be fired. It is the balance of forces, 
realised in the preparations for war, which now makes war 
an alternative not to be adopted without a shudder. It 
was not so in days of less elaborate and costly development 
of fighting power. 

The British Navy 

If this view be correct, and he will be a bold man who can 
dispute it in the face of the decade just past, the balance of 
force discernible in the present and near future will influence 



322 APPENDIX 

decisively the outcome of present political conditions in 
Europe, in the Mediterranean, and to the east of Suez. Some 
of the leading elements have been stated. One has been 
reserved to the last ; that is, the British Navy. For the 
present and near future the British Army seems not more 
than adequate to imperial responsibilities, unless some 
rare opportunity should offer, such as the past has known, 
where a corps comparatively small produces, by virtue of its 
position, effects disproportionate to its size. But, putting 
aside the defence of the British Islands, as a consideration 
respectable but inadequate to a comprehensive defence of 
British interests, the British Navy, if maintained in due 
strength, holds in its hands the commercial communications 
of Europe so long as the political lines of division indicated 
by the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente endure. It 
never again will be possible for the British Navy to control 
the commerce of the whole world, nor of the whole European 
continent ; but under the Triple Entente it remains possible 
to Great Britain to control the maritime situation, because 
by that entente the naval forces possible to be arrayed against 
her are limited to numbers over which she can decisively 
preponderate if she firmly so decides. 

The stress I have laid upon land power typified in Armies, 
frees me from assent to the extreme doctrines of the Blue 
Water and Fleet-in-Being schools, to which my advocacy of 
sea power has perhaps seemed to associate me. Yet I believe 
it remains true that Navies dominate the communications of 
sea commerce, and through them the financial prosperity 
of countries, upon which depend not only the maintenance 
of land war but the reasonable welfare of populations. The 
Continental system of Napoleon is the extreme example of 
the effect of such control. During that period sea power 
and land power, in as extreme expression as they have ever 
attained, were arrayed against each other ; and sea power 
won, not by a combination of accidents, but by a logical 
sequence of events. It might fairly be said that then com- 
merce as a factor dominated war, and so it ever will be when 
a contest between the two is stripped of confusing accessories 
and they appear to the mind in their respective nakedness 
and power. 



APPENDIX 323 

France's Money and Britain's Ships 

The massed land power of Mid-Europe and its political 
gravitative effect upon the chief centres of European unsettle- 
ment in South-Eastern Europe have been -indicated. Over 
against it stands no equivalent land power, even if, in circum- 
stances threatening a general conflagration, there are ele- 
ments of such in France and Russia, which, though inferior, 
must weigh heavily with a statesman envisaging war. But 
the real offset against the military power of the Triple Alli- 
ance is the financial resources of France and the Navy of 
Great Britain. The two together represent sea power in the 
scales of Europe, as Middle Europe represents land power. 
As usual, neither stands alone, wholly separated from the 
other. The Army of France is a large factor in land power ; 
that of Great Britain one not wholly negligible ; and in naval 
force Germany now stands second in the world. But, de- 
spite this allowance, the broad division stands. Now, should 
occasion arise, the Navy of Great Britain, if duly maintained, 
controls the approaches to the German coast, and by such 
control secures the communications of the British Islands 
with the whole world— except perhaps the Baltic. This 
means, substantially, the suppresson of German sea-borne 
commerce, the extent of which is little realised. With 
the world outside Europe this increased between 1894 
and 1904 by 93 per cent,, with Europe by 68 per cent. ; 
whereas the land interchange with Europe increased only 
48 per cent. 

The maintenance of this sea trade depends upon shipping, 
and it is to be remarked that war with Great Britain elimi- 
nates at once, as carriers to Germany, the two principal 
mercantile marines — the British and the German. France, 
with her entente sympathies and traditional grievances, will 
not greatly object to measures which will eliminate also her 
merchant vessels, already and otherwise sufficiently em- 
ployed. The United States has none but coastwise shipping, 
also fully employed, and is not likely to insist strongly upon 
a privilege of supplying Germany with ships. There remains 
no strong naval Power to object to the most serious repressive 
measures that Great Britain may undertake within the 
limits of International Law, broadly interpreted. 
22 



324 APPENDIX 

Germany's Naval Policy 

There is little cause for wonder, then, that Germany is 
contracting debt in order to strengthen her Navy. The 
wonder is that intelligent men in Great Britain should be 
found to ignore these facts, and to advocate immunity from 
the incidence of war for sea-borne commerce, under the 
delusive definition of " private property." 

As a student of military and naval history, it is to me 
certain that the advantages of the situation, regarded as com- 
mercial and military, are almost wholly with Great Britain, 
granting the continuance of the present laws of capture ; 
and the German strenuousness in naval development silently 
confirms this contention. The reply that a continental 
country can repair this disadvantage through its continental 
frontiers is so flagrant an ignoring of facts as to be scarcely 
worthy of respectful consideration. Such a country can live, 
yes ; but when it has built up a huge, complex industrial 
and commercial system, based upon the sea, it cannot sustain 
such cut off from the sea. Railroads, by the very nature of 
things, cannot alone replace the copiousness of water traffic, 
and, besides, they are rarely more than commensurate to a 
certain maximum of carriage dependent upon known normal 
conditions. The suppression of sea communications, total 
or approximate, means now, as it always has meant, financial 
disorganisation, military embarrassment, and popular 
misery. 

These things are not said to incite strife, for indeed they are 
not new, even if ignored. I would now, as I hoped ten years 
ago, that things had taken a different turn. But as they are, 
it is in the interests of peace to point out that no force in 
Europe can so act as a deterrent from war, induced by the 
possible ambitious or otherwise inevitable tendencies of 
Middle Europe, as can the Navy of Great Britain. The 
dividing line cleft between the Triple Alliance and the Triple 
Entente is too plain to be ignored. It has been emphasised 
at Alge9iras, in Crete, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and in other 
incidents less conspicuous but equally known. Under such 
circumstances the one salvation from war is readiness for 
war, based upon a clear appreciation of what can best be 
done and what should most be feared. 



APPENDIX 325 

STATEMENT ISSUED TO THE PRESS BY ADMIRAL 
MAHAN ON AUGUST 3, 1914 : THE DAY BEFORE 
THE DECLARATION OF WAR BY GREAT 
BRITAIN. 

" The aggressive insolence of Austria's ultimatum to Servia, 
taken with the concession by the latter of all the demands 
except those too humiliating for national self-respect, indi- 
cate that the real cause of the war is other than set forth by 
the ultimatum. 

" Knowing from past experience how the matter must be 
reviewed by Russia, it is incredible that Austria would have 
ventured on the ultimatum unless assured beforehand of the 
consent of Germany to it. The inference is irresistible that 
the substance of the ultimatum was the pretext for a war 
already determined on as soon as plausible occasion offered. 

" The cause of this predetermination is to be found in the 
growing strength of Russia on recovering from her war with 
Japan. With the known deficiencies of French armaments, 
which were recently admitted, the moment was auspicious 
for striking down France and Russia before they regained 
strength. The motives are to be found in Austria's appre- 
hension of the growing Slav power in the south and that of 
Germany concerning Russia on the east. 

" Great Britain as the third member of the Entente finds 
herself in the position of Prussia in 1805, when she permitted 
Napoleon to strike down Austria unaided and was herself 
struck down the following year at Jena : or of that of France 
in 1866, when she stood by while Prussia crushed Austria 
and was herself overwhelmed in 1870. 

" Germany's procedure is to overwhelm at once by con- 
centrated preparation and impetuous momentum. If she 
fail in this she is less able to sustain prolonged aggression, as 
was indicated in the Franco-Prussian War during and after 
the siege of Paris. 

" The British fleet, which is superior to that of Germany, 
has the power to prevent all commerce under the German 
flag, and, by blockade, to close against neutrals all the rivers 
properly German except those emptying into the Baltic 
The British fleet is not strong enough to divide for blockade 



326 APPENDIX 

in both Baltic and North Seas. The Rhine, emptying 
through neutral Holland, cannot be blockaded. 

" If the first German rush prove indecisive or prolonged, 
the financial pressure thus in the power of Great Britain 
may determine the issue, or may force the German fleet to 
fight, in which case the issues will be determined by battle. 

" If Germany succeeds in downing both France and Russia, 
she gains a respite by land, which may enable her to build 
up her sea force equal, or superior to that of Great Britain. 

" In that case the world will be confronted by the naval 
power of a state, not, like Great Britain, sated with territory, 
but one eager and ambitious for expansion, eager also for 
influence. This consideration may well affect American 
sympathies. 

" In my judgment, a right appreciation of the situation 
should determine Great Britain to declare war at once. Other- 
wise, her entente engagements, whatever the letter, will be 
in spirit violated, and she will earn the entire distrust of all 
probable future allies. 

" Italy likewise owes it to herself to declare war against 
her recent allies. In co-operation with France, and with 
Greece, reinforced by the two American battleships just pur- 
chased, she can doubtless maintain the balance of maritime 
^^power in the Mediterranean, prevent the Turks giving their 
expected support to Germany, keep quiet the Bulgarians, if 
these are so ill-advised as to purpose a diversion in favor 
of Austria, and, in brief, consolidate the opposition of the 
Balkan States to Austria-Hungary, whose ambitions are 
notoriously inconsistent with those of Italy." 

"THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS » " 
Extracts from an Article by Charles Stewart 
Davison, New York 

It is to be hoped that there may be no hasty expression of 
view nor public committal of the country to any specific 
doctrine in relation to America's attitude on " The Freedom 
of the Seas " until opportunity shall have occurred for full 
conference and consideration. There is a point in relation 
^ Reproduced by the courtesy of Mr. Charles Stewart Davison. 



« 



APPENDIX 327 

to the question of our attitude as a nation on this subject 
which siiould be taken under advisement. The major and 
controlUng differentiation between private property on land 
and private property at sea is wholly overlooked in the 
proposition that the latter, when not contraband of war, 
should be exempted from capture or destruction by belli- 
gerents if we are to understand that we are therein seeking 
complete immunity for private property at sea. 

The instructions to the American delegates to the first 
Hague Conference in 1899 did not, in fact, go quite to that 
extent. They were to the effect that what was sought was 
the same immunity of destruction or capture " which such 
property already enjoys on land." 

Popularly this has been construed as a demand for com- 
plete immunity, and it is fair to say that the proposition was 
so phrased or formulated by Secretary Marcy in 1856 as to 
tend to sustain this popular construction of the instructions 
which we gave to our Hague delegates, for our refusal in 
1856 to sign the agreement of the Paris Conference in relation 
to the abandonment of privateering was qualified by a proffer 
to assent thereto provided it was also agreed that " private 
property of subjects and citizens of a belligerent on the high 
seas shall be exempted from seizure by public armed vessels 
of the other belligerent, except it be contraband." It will 
be noted that the position which we took in 1899 does not 
go to the full extent of our proposition of 1856. The latter 
asks for absolute immunity for private property not contra- 
band at sea. The former asks only for the same immunity 
which such property already enjoys on land. 

Now, private property on land in time of war does not 
enjoy under the laws of war total immunity from destruction 
or capture, therefore, the analogy supposed to be appealed 
to fails. Private property on land is subject, in gross, to 
requisitions for the support of armies, etc. The burdens 
placed in time of war on private property on land must, then, 
if we are to proceed on analogies, find their parallel in the 
placing of some equivalent burdens on private property at 
sea, and the major premise in the argumentative instructions 
disappears. But the great distinction or discrimination — 
which, if we took the view ordinarily entertained of the 1899 



328 APPENDIX 

instructions, would be wholly overlooked — is found in the 
fact that private property on land, where its location is em- 
braced within territory occupied by a belligerent, is stationary, 
and by the occupation of the land such private property 
ceases to be an available source of strength to the enemy, 
and, therefore — no longer contributing to the enemy's sub- 
stance nor capable of further forwarding his warlike effort — 
no military reason exists which would justify its expropria- 
tion except to the extent of the support of the invading 
army, and to that extent, in the shape of reasonable requisi- 
tions, it is subject thereto as also to destruction on retiring, 
if it would be of advantage to the enemy in a military sense. 
On the other hand, private property at sea is in transit as 
part of an enemy's trade. Its arrival at destination and 
its sale and the receipt by an individual enemy of its monetary 
value enhance the resources of the enemy, benefit him and aid 
in maintaining or increasing his resistance and warlike effort. 

This is the fundamental difference between enemy private 
property on land embraced within territory occupied by a 
belligerent's forces and enemy private property at sea. The 
one is rendered innocuous by the occupation of the territory 
where it is located, the other, if immune from capture, would 
remain an active element in the enemy's capacity for offence 
and defence. It might therefore be argued that it would 
be well to permit of the capture and retention of the vessel 
and the storage of the goods, or, if perishable, their sale and 
the holding of the proceeds to be returned to the private 
owner at the conclusion of the war, but not for immunity 
from seizure. 

It is also to be observed that in addition to the goods the 
vessel itself, that is, its use, is an object of value to the enemy. 
The particular voyage on which it is engaged at any given 
time is presumably not the last voyage which any given 
vessel would have an opportunity of making during the con- 
tinuance of hostilities, in its capacity of being an element of 
commercial resources of the enemy. A belligerent should 
therefore be entitled to exercise such control as may be 
necessary to prevent this result. Again, assuming that the 
vessel safely returned to the belligerent's country, it would 
become available for the transportation of troops and 



APPENDIX 329 

munitions. Its use would, therefore, in the first instance 
aid in maintaining the enemy's general resources, and in the 
second instance would directly aid in his warlike effort. 
Against both of these uses the other belligerent should be 
entitled to protect himself by capture. 

There should, therefore, be no blind adoption nor hasty 
acquiescence in a policy which is not founded on reason and 
one which, to the extent to which it has at any time been 
deemed American policy, has been founded upon a mis- 
apprehension of the fundamental considerations involved. 

It cannot be said that the laws of war either at sea or on 
land are founded on fantastic considerations. Each gain 
in the direction of amelioration of the conditions of war has 
been made only where it has been capable of demonstration 
that the step advocated did not involve any concession 
to the enemy's efficiency or any augmenting of the enemy's 
resources in the then present war. They have all had sound 
reason along these lines in their support. This one sugges- 
tion of immunity at sea has not sound reason underlying it, 
but is a fantastic step, basing its claims to consideration on 
quasi-humanitarian or, rather, on a fictitious application 
of such views and on an entire failure to consider a funda- 
mental distinction. 

So far as the attitude which we took in 1899 is concerned, 
it is possible that there was a certain amount of German 
influence mingled therein. It may be that we were at least 
strengthened in our views thereby, possibly quite uncon- 
sciously to ourselves, for at the time that our proposals in 
this direction were put forward Germany offered to acquiesce 
if contraband and blockade were included, or, rather, if specific 
agreements were come to as to what should constitute contra- 
band and as to the limitations of blockade. 

German Diplomacy Military 

At a glance it is clear that Germany was simply under- 
taking to promote her own warlike enterprise. Her open and 
avowed enemy was England (though England refused to 
recognise it), or, specifically, the English fleet. If she could 
have accomplished the result that no goods save munitions 
should be contraband and that there should be no captures 



330 APPENDIX 

at sea save of contraband, and if she could have procured 
the adoption of a strict Umitation upon the right of blockade, 
she would have gone a long way toward neutralising her chief 
enemy's main power. It must be borne in mind that Ger- 
many's diplomacy and diplomatic methods, of which we 
have now learned a little, did not begin on August 1, 1914. 
Our instructions in 1899 to our Hague delegates might on 
close investigation be found not to have been wholly unin- 
fluenced by Germany's efforts, and it is instructive to note 
that those nations which Germany expected to stand pri- 
marily in the way of her world aggression — Great Britain, 
France, and Russia — were fully advised of the intent and pur- 
pose of the proposals and voted against them. 



MAHAN'S SYNOPSIS OF THE DECISIVE EVENTS OF 
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR 

The question transmitted to me through Taylor is one on 
which my knowledge is less extensive and precise than you 
have imagined. I have not time to supply these deficiencies 
by any elaborate study, and in giving my reply I will accom- 
pany it with a brief analysis, which may enable your friends 
to test its value for themselves. 

The struggle between the North and the South was that 
of a much stronger party against a weaker ; the latter, how- 
ever, was in possession, and, as in most cases of conflict in 
arms, had the usual advantages of the defense, in positions 
assumed more or less deliberately, and strengthened by 
fortifications. 

Again, not only was there an original disparity of strength,' 
but the North's control of the water enabled it to shut off 
the South from external support. The North, therefore, 
not only possessed the superior original strength, but the 
potentiality of indefinite renewal. This showed itself chiefly 
in finance, in the superior staying money power of the North, 
also in facility for providing warlike stores. This summarises 
the significance of the blockade. 

Under these conditions of force, the southern front of 
operations extended — roughly stated — from the Atlantic 



APPENDIX 331 

seaboard by the Potomac and Ohio Rivers to the Rio Grande. 
There the South stood on the defense, and against this hne 
the North moved in force much superior, but at the first not 
so decisively so. The weak part of the Southern position was 
its being traversed in the west — their left — by the Mississippi ; 
weak, because the water potentialities of the North far 
exceeded theirs. On their right they were similarly, but not 
so decisively weak ; for there their right flank rested on the 
sea, and was also open to the water power of the North, and 
did continually receive weakening flank attacks. 

The Northern plan of operations, as summarised in history, 
was to move against both flanks ; not till very late in the 
war was the movement upon the Southern centre. But in 
the west the great movement was made, for there the attack 
was not so much on the flank itself, but upon the point where 
flank and centre met ; the aim — as historically shown, rather 
than in the consciousness of the day — being to turn the flank, 
and at the same time cut off and put out of action the 
Southern extreme left. 

Accepting this analysis, the year 1860 passed without 
decisive or even very significant incident. 

In 1862 Farragut entered the Mississippi, and in April 
captured New Orleans. The army and navy moved from 
the Upper Mississippi ; and the naval incidents of Fort Henry 
and Memphis, combined with the military events of Fort 
Donelson, Shiloh, and whatever further advance the army 
made after that battle, were the decisive features. In the 
east the Peninsula campaign, Pope's fiascos about Manassas, 
the battle of Antietam, taken all together, were simply the 
swaying back and forth of combatants as yet substantially 
equal, i.e. taking into account commanders. Much blood- 
shed, but a drawn strife. The subsequent affairs of 
Fredericksburg (1862) and Chancellorsville (1863) fall in the 
same category. 

The really representative scenes in this year were, I should 
say, the capture of New Orleans and the surrender of Donel- 
son. The latter may not have been the most decisive, but 
it was the most dramatic occurrence. 

In 1863, the same attempts were renewed. The North 
succeeded in driving its way through the Mississippi ; of this 



332 APPENDIX 

Farragut's passage of Port Hudson and the surrender of 
Vieksburg are, in my judgment, the representative events. 
On the east at Chancellorsville we renewed our flank attack, 
but the great event of the year was the offensive return by 
Lee, which ended in repulse at Gettysburg. This was a 
decisive event, for it demonstrated that the South had not 
the strength to act offensively on our flank; while it was 
equally clear that the North had power so to act on the 
west. These coincident facts made this the decisive year. 

For 1863 then, in my judgment. Port Hudson, Vieksburg, 
and Gettysburg are the representative occurrences. 

In 1864, the leading operations are Grant's Wilderness 
Campaign and Sherman's advance upon Atlanta, followed 
by the march through Georgia. The latter operation 
succeeded a great deal of hard fighting in 1862 and 1863, 
done in reaching and controlling Sherman's initial point, 
in the neighbourhood of Chattanooga. This antecedent 
fighting had the characteristic which I noted before con- 
cerning events in the east in 1862 ; there was varied fortune, 
swinging back and forth, much bloodshed, no decisive issue, 
though upon the whole the North had gained and did advance. 
In these years, 1862 and 1863, the scene of struggle was the 
Confederate centre ; but our success in the latter year on the 
Mississippi made it, in 1864, more nearly the Confederate 
left. Sherman's success again turned the Confederate flank, 
while at the same time lopping many a considerable fragment. 
Of his campaign Atlanta is the representative name. Its 
capture ended the serious fighting, and from it began his 
easy triumphal march. 

I confess myself unable to point to a decisive incident in 
Grant's campaign of 1864 ; but of course Lee's surrender 
at Appomattax is the dramatic finale of the conflict. 

If there should be any disposition to recognise the block- 
ade's part in the result, the two battles of Port Royal and 
Mobile appear to me to represent its action ; for the ultimate 
effort of the blockade was to assert itself by holding the 
harbours. Of these endeavors Port Royal was the first 
— barring Hatteras, a much 1 ess important affair — and 
Mobile the last. 

From the purely military standpoint Vieksburg and 



APPENDIX 333 

Gettysburg were the decisive battles. The former actually 
decided the fate of the Mississippi. Gettysburg did not so 
much decide events as prove a decisive fact, viz. that 
the South was unable to carry out an offensive return. 

Politically, New Orleans was the most decisive battle. 
Foreign intervention was until then, I believe, possible ; 
from that time it was hopeless. 

My list then in order of importance would stand : Vicks- 
burg, New Orleans, Gettysburg, Port Hudson (naval), Donel- 
son, Port Royal, Atlanta, Mobile, Appomattax. There are 
nine. Of these to eliminate I should take away Port Royal ; 
because though more important than Mobile, it is less well 
known and less dramatic. 

I must add that I think my detailed knowledge so defec- 
tive that I may very well have overlooked some incident, 
intrinsically small, actually more decisive than bigger affairs. 
I believe, however, that my analysis, in its leading lines, is 
fairly correct, and that somewhere on these lines the decisive 
events are to be found, even though my solution be open to 
criticism. 

A. T. M. 

MAHAN'S VIEWS ON FEMALE SUFFRAGE 

It has been said that, owing to Great Britain having no 
written constitution as a check upon the powers of her 
legislature, there is nothing which Parliament cannot do, 
except to make a woman a man. To define this object as 
the end of the suffrage movement would probably be called 
a caricature ; yet a moment's reflection will show that it is 
true, in the sense of breaking down and removing for ever the 
line of demarcation, which the general sense of the world 
and the course of history have drawn, as the barrier separat- 
ing the respective spheres of men and women. It is obvious 
that the movement cannot stop with the mere grant of the 
vote ; that inevitably it goes on to the full entrance of 
women upon the whole field of political activity ; upon the 
legislative field, from the National Congress down, and upon 
the Executive, from the President of the United States to 
the smallest political office in the gift of the Government. 
This is not to establish merely equality of consideration, 



334 APPENDIX 

upon which so much argument is wasted, with the implica- 
tion that the withholding of suffrage is an imputation of the 
inferiority of women to men. The result, stated above as 
inevitable, if the vote be at once attained, is not equality in 
any sense, but identity of social function between women 
and men. It means that women shall no longer concentrate 
their ambitions and affections upon the home, the children, 
and all the sacred relationships attaching to their work, but 
shall disperse their energy and modify their characters and 
entire personality as a sex, by entering upon the outside 
hurly-burly of masculine life. 

The question before us, then, is whether it is, or can be, 
good for the community to sacrifice, wholly or even in 
great measure, the special social function of women which 
throughout the Christian era has been hers in the Christian 
household. The equality of the sexes has been in the teach- 
ing of Christianity from the beginning ; and nowhere else 
than where Christianity enters has that equality been found : 
because women have neither the physical nor the moral 
energy to compel it by brute force. But Christianity — 
which is the corner-stone of European civilisation — while 
inculcating equality, emphasises differentiations and denies 
identity of function. Such identity is the end of the present 
woman's movement. It promises and is already accom- 
panied by a lessening esteem for home and children. Is it 
probably for the good of the community ? The true test to 
be applied to every social and political demand is the good 
of the community ; not the gratification of a very small 
section of it. Is it expedient for the welfare of the com- 
munity that women should have the ballot ? Here we must 
recognise and remember that we face a far-reaching pro- 
position. You cannot stop with the vote. There follows 
necessarily the full range of all the political activities. These 
at present are confined to men. Will it be to the advantage 
of the community — of the State — that women enter this 
arena also ? Are political activities so consonant to women's 
sphere as to make this advisable? Or is it more probable 
that as actually men superintend all the commercial and 
business activities, all that constitutes the prosperity and 
order of the State, to them also should be confined the 



APPENDIX 335 

political action which reglates business, commerce, trans- 
port, manufactures ? 

With these consequences in view, to give women the vote 
breaks down the constant practice of the past ages by which 
to men are assigned the outdoor rough action of life and to 
women that indoor sphere which we call the family. There 
is no drawing a line here other than that of sex. Remove 
that barrier as is proposed and you reverse what has hereto- 
fore been fundamental in our society. 

A. T. M. 

ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS 

Message sent to the Prime Minister of England, Mr. David 
Lloyd George, by distinguished representatives of the three 
foremost patriotic Societies of America, The Society of the 
Cincinnati, The Sons of the Revolution, and The Sons of the 
American Revolution, on the fourth anniversary of Great 
Britain's entrance into the war, August 4, 1918 : 

" Desiring through you to assure the Government and people 
of Great Britain, on this fourth anniversary of their entrance 
into the great war, of the sincere regard and affection enter- 
tained for your nation by members of the Society of the Cincinnati 
(formed by General Washington, and the Marquis de Lafayette 
from the officers of the Continental Army) and by members of 
the patriotic ancestral Societies of the Sons of the Revolution 
and Sons of the American Revolution, whose membership is 
composed exclusively of those whose forefathers fought in the 
Revolutionary War under General Washington ; we, here to- 
day on August 4 in Fraunces Tavern, New York City, where 
General Washington as Commander-in-Chief held the farewell 
reception to his officers, preparatory to his retirement to private 
life, have signed our names to this paper to testify to the fact 
of our highest appreciation of the noble efforts and heroic self- 
sacrifice of your valiant soldiers and sailors, and to state that as 
July 4 is our ' Independence Day,' so August 4 will ever be 
held sacred by us as ' Dependence Day ' in honor of the great 
mother-land which drew her sword without hesitation for the 
cause of Belgium and world freedom, to show that treaties once 
made must be kept, and that perfect dependence could be placed 
upon her to keep her plighted troth.'" 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 
WORKS BY MAHAN 

1883. " The Gulf and Inland Waters." 

1890. " The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660- 

1783." 
1892. " The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revo- 
lution and Empire, 1793-1812." Two volumes. 
" The Life of Admiral Farragut." 

1897. " The Life of Nelson : the Embodiment of the Sea 
Power of Great Britain." Two volumes. 
" The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and 
Future." 

The United States looking outward — Hawaii and our Future 
Sea Power — The Isthmus and Sea Power — Possibilities 
of an Anglo-American Reunion — The Future in Relation 
to American Naval Power — Preparedness for Naval War — 
A Twentieth-century Outlook — Strategic Features of the 
Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. 

1899. " Lessons of the War with Spain." 

Lessons of the War with Spain — The Peace Conference and 
the Moral Aspect of War — The Relations of the United 
States to their new Dependencies — -Distinguishing Qualities 
of Ships of War — Current Fallacies upon Naval Subjects. 

1900. " The Problem of Asia, and its Effect upon Inter- 

national Policies." 

The Problem of Asia — Effect of Asiatic Conditions upon 
World Policies — Merits of the Transvaal Dispute. 

" The Story of the War in South Africa, 1899-1900." 
Another edition. Profusely illustrated. (R. H. 
Russell.) 

1901. " Types of Naval Officers, Drawn from the History 

of the British Navy." 
336 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 337 

1902. " Retrospect and Prospect : Studies in International 
Relations, Naval and Political." 

Retrospect and Prospect — Conditions determining the Naval 
Expansion of the United States — The Influence of the 
South African War upon th'e Prestige of the British Empire 
— Motives to Imperial Federation — Considerations 
governing the Disposition of Navies — The Persian Oulf 
and International Relations — The Military Rule of 
Obedience — Admiral Sampson. 

1905. " Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812." 
Two volumes. 

1907. " Some Neglected Aspects of War." 

The Moral Aspect of War — The Practical Aspect of War — 
War from the Christian Standpoint — The Hague Confer- 
ence of 1907 and the Question of Immunity for Belligerent 
Merchant Shipping. 

" From Sail to Steam : Recollections of Naval Life." 

1908. " Naval Administration and Warfare." 

The Principles of Naval Adm-inistration — The United States 
Navy Department — Principles involved in the War between 
Japan and Russia — Retrospect upon the War between 
Japan and Russia — Objects of the United States Naval 
War College — The Practical Character of the United States 
Naval War College — Subordination in Historical Treat- 
ment — The Strength of Nelson — The Value of the Pacific 
Cruise of the United States Fleet, 1908 — The Monroe 
Doctrine. 

1909. " The Harvest Within : Thoughts on the Life of the 

Christian." 

1910. " The Interest of America in International Condi- 

tions." 

The Origin and Character of Present International Groupings 
in Europe — The Present Predominance of Germany in 
Europe — Its Foundations and Tendencies — Relations 
between the East and the West — The Open Door. 

1911. " Naval Strategy Compared and Contrasted with 

the Principles and Practice of Military Opera- 
tions on Land." 



338 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1912. " Armaments and Arbitration ; or the Place of Force 

in the International Relations of States." 

Armaments and Arbitration — Diplomacy and Arbitration — 
Navies as International Factors — The Deficiencies of Law 
as an Instrument of International Adjustments — The 
Place of Force in International Relations — " The Great 
Illusion " — The Panama Canal and Sea Power in the 
Pacific — Why fortify the Panama Canal ? — The Naval 
War College — Was Panama " a Chapter of National 
Dishonor " ? 

1913. " The Major Operations of the Navies in the War 

of American Independence." 



MISCELLANY 

" Reflections, Historical and Other, Suggested by the Battle 

of the Sea of Japan," U.S. Naval Institute, June 1906 ; 

reprinted in Journal of the Royal United Service Institu- 
tion, November 1906. 
" The Battleship of All Big Guns," World's Work, January 

1911. 
" Misrepresenting Mr. Roosevelt," Outlook, June 17, 1911. 
" Importance of Command of the Sea," Scientific American, 

December 9, 1911. 
" Japan among Nations," Living Age, August 2, 1913. 
" Twentieth-century Christianity," Nortli American Review, 

April 1914. 
" Macdonough at Plattsburg," North American Review, 

August 1914. 
" The Panama Canal and the Distribution of the Fleet," 

North American Review, September 1914. 
" The Panama Canal from a Military Point of View," Revue 

^conomique Internationale, Brussels, January 1913. 
" Sea Power in the Present European War," Leslie's Weekly, 

August 20, 1914. 
" Nelson at Trafalgar," " Nelson in the Battle of the Nile," 

Century, vol. xxxi. 
Introduction to H. W. Wilson's " Ironclads in Action," 1897. 
" The Growth of our National Feeling," World's Work, N.Y. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 339 

" Prayer Book Revision," The Churchman. 

" The Apparent Decadence of the Church's Influence," 

Florence, 1903. 
" Britain and the German Navy," Dailij Mail, July 6, 1910. 
" Britain and the World's Peace," Daily Mail, October 31, 

1910. 

PUBLICATIONS REFERRING TO MAHAN 

" Captain Mahan's Counsels to the United States," George 

Sydenham Clarke, Nineteenth Century, February 1898. 
" Nelson at Naples," F. P. Badham, 1900. 
" Mahan on Sea Power," S. G. W. Benjamin, New York 

Times Book Review, January 18, 1902. 
" La Maitrise de la Mer," Auguste Moireau, Uevue des Deux 

Mondes, October 1902. 
" Some American Historians," Professor II. Morse Stephens,. 

World's Work, July 1902. 
" Lee at Appomattox, and Other Papers," Charles Francis 

Adams, 1903. 
" The Writings of Mahan," New York Nation, December 10„ 

1914. 
" A Great Public Servant," Theodore Roosevelt, Outlook, 

January 13, 1915. See also Outlook, December 9, 1914. 
" Alfred Thayer Mahan — In Memoriam," United States 

Naval Institute, January-February 1915. 
" The Influence of America's Greatest Naval Strategist on 

the War in Europe," Current Opinion, February 1915. 

(From Paris Figaro.) 
"■ Naval History : Mahan and his Successors," Military 

Historian and Economist, January 1918. 
" The Parliament of Peace," W. T. Stead, Review ofRevieivs, 

1899. 
" Mahan's Worth as Writer and Historian," Marine-Rund- 

schau, 1908. 
" Lessons from Mahan for To-day," Charles C. Gill, Sea 

Power, September 1919. 
" Alfred Thayer Mahan," Professor William Milligan Sloane, 

Columbia University Quarterly, March 1916. 
" The White Race and the Mastery of the Sea," J. Sachs, 

Vienna, 1909. 

23 



340 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

" Notre Puissance Maritime et le Livre de Mahan," Leonce 

Abeille, Paris, 1912. 
" Captain Mahan on Maritime Power," Professor J. K. 

Laughton, Edinburgh Review, October 1890 and April 

1893. 
" Captain Mahan," Austin Taylor, B.A., President Liverpool 

Philomathic Society, 1898. 
" Captain Mahan's ' Nelson,' " William O'Connor Morris, 

Fortnightly Review, vol. Ixi. 
" The New Nelson," Spenser Wilkinson, The National Review, 

vol. xxix, July 1897, 
*' Life of Nelson," George Sydenham Clarke, The Nineteenth 

Century, vol. xli, June 1897. 
" Nelson and his Biographers," David Hannay, Macmillan's^ 

May 1897. 
" Rear-Admiral Mahan," Rev. George Wm. Douglas, D.D., 

The Churchman, December 12, 1914. 
" Alfred Thayer Mahan : An Appreciation," Rear- Admiral 

C. H. Stockton, The Churchman, December 19, 1914. 
"Captain Mahan's Life of Nelson," Professor J. K. Laughton, 

Edinburgh Review, vol. clxxxvi, July 1897. 
*' Nelson," J. R. Thursfield, Quarterly Review, vol. clxxxvii, 

January 1898, 
*' Admiral Mahan's Warning," Fortnightly Review, vol. xciv, 

1910. 
Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White, 1905. 
"The Peace Conference at the Hague," G. F. W. Holls. 
*' Mahan on Naval Warfare," Allan Westcott, 1918. 
*' The Navy as a Fighting Machine," Rear-Admiral Bradley 

A. Fiske, 1916. 
" Memories of Annapolis," Samuel Ashe, South Atlantic 

Quarterly, July 1919. 
" Types of Naval Officers," Captain Borckenhagen, Marine- 

Rundschau, 1902, No. 5. 
Report of the Proceedings of the Hague Conference, 1899. 
*' Freedom of the Seas," Brooklyn Eagle, November 13, 1918. 
Report of the Proceedings of the Hague Conference, 1899. 
"jThe Inherent Tactical Qualities of All-big-gun, One-calibre 

Battleships of High Speed, Large Displacement, and 

Gun Power," Admiral William S. Sims. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 

*' The Great Illusion " (reply), Norman Angell, North 
American Review, June 1912. 

*' Fallacies of Captain Mahan," L. A. Mead, Arena, Sep- 
tember 1908. 

" Sea Power and Freedom," Gerard Fiennes. 

" History of the United States Naval War College, Newport." 

" After Work," Edward Marston. 

*' Captain Mahan : The Great Strategist," Andrew Deir, 
Nautical Magazine, November 1904. 

*' The Story of our Navy for Young Americans," W. J.Abbot, 
1910. 

Encyclopaedia Britamiica : Biographical Sketch ; " Com- 
mand of the Sea," and " Sea Power," Sir Cyprian 
Bridge ; " Navy and Navies," David Hannay. 

Biographical Sketches and Portraits in numerous other 
Encylopaedias and Periodicals. 

A number of Translations of Mahan's Works in French, 
German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, by Comte A. 
de Diesbach, M. Boisse, M. Gaston Fournier, Professor 
Izoulet, Ensign de Rivoyre, the Club of Japanese Naval 
Officers (Tokyo), Mr. M. Minakami, and others. 

Obituary notices in representative publications throughout 
the world on or about December 2, 1914. 



CHRONOLOGY 



1840. September 27, Alfred Thayer Mahan born at West 
Point, New York, son of Professor Dennis Hart 
Mahan of the U.S. Mihtary Academy. 

1854-1856. Columbia College. 

1856. September 30, entered the third class, U.S. Naval 
Academy, as Acting Midshipman. Appointed from 
the 10th Congressional District of New York. 

1859. June 9, graduated as Midshipman. 

1859-1861. Frigate Congress, Brazil station. 

1861. August 31, promoted to Lieutenant. Converted 
steamer James Adger for ten days. 

1861-1862. Steam corvette Pocahontas, in the Potomac 
flotilla ; capture of Port Royal, November 7, 1861 ; 
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 

1862-1863. Naval Academy at Newport, Rhode Island. 
First Lieutenant in the Macedonian during the 
summer practice cruise to England in 1863. 

1863-1864. Steam corvette Seminole, West Gulf Block- 
ading Squadron. 

1864-1865. James Adger; staff of Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, 
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 

1865-1866. Double-ender Muscoota. 

1865. June 7, promoted to Lieutenant-Commander. I 

1866. Ordnance duty, Washington Navy Yard. 
1867-1869. Steam sloop Iroquois, to Asiatic station, via 

Cape of Good Hope. Detached in 1869 ; returned 

via India, Rome, and Paris. 
1869. Commanding gunboat Aroostook, Asiatic station. 
1870-1871. Navy Yard, New York. 

1871. Worcester, home station. 

1872. Promoted to Commander. Receiving ship, New 

York. 

342 



CHRONOLOGY 343 

1873-1874. Commanding side-wheel steamer Wasp in the 

Rio de la Plata. 
1875-1876. Navy Yard, Boston. 
1877-1880. Naval Academy, Annapolis^ 
1880-1883. Navy Yard, New York. 
1883-1885. Commanding steam sloop Wachussett, South 

Pacific Squadron. 
1885. Promoted to Captain. Assigned to Naval War 

College, as Lecturer on Naval History and Strategy. 
1886-1889. President of Naval War College. 
1889-1892. Special duty, Bureau of Navigation. Member 

of Commission to choose site for navy yard in Puget 

Sound. 
1892-1893. President of Naval War College. 
1893-1895. Commanding cruiser Chicago, flagship of Rear- 

Admiral Erben, European station. 
1894. D.C.L., Oxford; LL.D., Cambridge. 
1895-1896. Special duty at the Naval War College. 

LL.D., Harvard. 

1896. November 17, retired as Captain on his own applica- 

tion after forty years' service. 
1896-1912. Special duty in connection with Naval War 
College. 

1897. LL.D., Yale. 

1898. Member of Naval War Board during Spanish- 

American War. 

1899. Delegate to Hague Peace Conference. 

1900. LL.D., Columbia. 

1902. President of the American Historical Association. 

1903. LL.D., Dartmouth. 

1906. June 29, Rear-Admiral on the retired list. 

1908. Appointed by President Roosevelt a member of the 

Commission to report on the reorganisation of the 
Navy Department ; Chairman of a joint Com- 
mission on Naval Affairs ; and a member of a Sub- 
Committee on Department Methods. 

1909. LL.D., MagiU. 

1914. December 1, died at the Naval Hospital, Washington. 



INDEX 



Abbott, General Henry L., 2 

Abonkir, H.M.S., 293 

AlEiskan botmdary, Roosevelt on, 
203 

Alexander, James W., 282 

Alexander, William, x, 282 

Algeciras, 191 

Alger, General Russell, M. de- 
molishes, 201 

All-big-gun ships, 204 ; M. and 
Sims on, 212, 213 

Altschul, Charles, analysis of 
American school histories, 240 

America, v, vii ; M.'s counsels to, 
201 ; transformation naval and 
maritime Power, 217 ; most 
glorious day in annals of, 217; 
finds her soul, 218 ; as money 
maker, 218 ; as world's banker, 
218 ; preservation of peace, 
219 ; Red Cross gift, 219 ; Eng- 
lajid's gratitude, 222 ; the am- 
icable majority, 226 ; M.'s 
message to, 228-44 ; imlimited 
markets, 228, • 229 ; land of 
boiindless opporttmity, 229 ; 
international responsibilities, 
230, 231 ; deplorable school 
histories, 239, 240, 240 (note) ; 
needs M., 240 

American Church Institute for 
negroes, 266 

American naval officers, 66 

Anegada Passage, 191 

Anglo-American relations, 106 ; 
community of interests, 147, 
151, 152 ; never better than 
to-day, 150; Admiral Sims a 
naval link, 170, 171 ; co-opera- 
tion American and British 
navies, 175, 176 ; Admiral 
Bayly on American destroyers, 
176 ; no difficulty unsolvable by 
arbitration, 203 ; M. on Anglo- 
American reunion, 215-17, 224, 
227 ; J. M. Beck, 219 ; Dr. 



Manning, 219 ; American Red 
Cross, 219 ; Canada and Cana- 
dian Pacific Railway unde- 
fended, 220 ; first Anglo- 
American reunion, 220, 221, 
221 (note) ; Chichester, 223 
(note) ; growth of good feeling, 
223 ; Prince of Wales on, 224 ; 
Roosevelt on, 224, 225 ; co- 
operation of Anglo-American 
naval forces, 225 ; amicable 
majority in America, 226 ; M.'s 
message to Americans, 228 ; 
American school histories, 240, 
240 (note) ; M. on Anglo- 
American friendshipj 305, 306 

Anglo-Japanese Alliance, M.'s 
disapproval of, 181 

Anglo-Saxondom, 143, 146, 217, 
222 

Annapolis Naval Academy, 7, 
7 (note), 8, 9, 10 

Arbitration, M.'s views, 173, 197, 
198 ; Roosevelt's views, 203, 
204 

Armaments and Arbitration, 112, 
172, 173, 175, 176, 272; see 
Bibliography 

Army and Navy Journal, 24 

Arnold, Matthew, 68, 248 

Aroostook, gunboat, 18 

Arthur, President Chester A. , 24 ; 
birth of the new American Navy, 
161 

Asami, Commander K., 266-8 

Ashe, Hon. Samuel, x, 8, 257, 258, 
305 

Assignation, The, 248 

AthenEeum Club entertains M., 
74, 206 

Athenceum,, The, 194 

Atlanta, U.S.S., 162 

Atlantic Monthly,n2, 113,114, 206 

Audubon, John J., 3 

Audubon, the Misses Eliza, Lucy, 
and Annie, 3 



345 



346 



INDEX 



Australia, coolie immigrants, 203 
Austria, 282 

Babson, Roger W., 280 

Bacon, Sir Francis, 41 

Baker, Hon. Newton D., 57 

Balfour, Rt. Hon. Arthur, x ; 
enthusiastic admirer of M., 304 

Balthis, H. H., 138 

Bancroft Hall, Annapolis, 8 

Bancroft, Hon. George, 7 

Banqueting House, Whitehall 
Palace, 102, 102 (note) ; Rubens 
ceiling, 102, 103 (note) 

Barker, Captain A. S., 88 

Barnes, James, x 

Barnes, Captain Jolin S., 45, 92 

Battleship fleet, division of, 204 

Battleships, M. and Simsi on 
A.B.G. ships, 211-13; import- 
ance of speed, 212 ; 12-inch 
versus 6- inch guns, 212 ; 
rapidity of hit'ing all important, 
212 

Bayard, Hon. T. F., American 
Ambassador, 63, 73 ; writes to 
M., 74, 75 

Bayley, Clive, x 

Bayly, Admiral Sir Lewis, com- 
mends iVmerican destroyer 
flotilla, 176 

Beatty, Admiral Earl, x, 209 ; 
tribute to M., 225, 226 

Beck, James Montgomery, 219 

Bee, naval story about, 161 

Bell, General Franklin, 109 

Beresf ord. Admiral Lord (Charles), 
45 ; tribute to M.'s books, 134, 
135, 287 

Berry, Sir Edward, Flag-Captain 
at the Nile, 86 

Bible, the, literary beauty of, 
256, 256 (note) 

Bigelow, Poultney, ex-Kaiser's 
telegram to, 131 

Bliss, Captain Tasker, 32 

Blockade, 141, 147, 153, 155, 156; 
effect of, 158 ; prejudiced by 
neutrals, 159 ; M. predicts suc- 
cess of British, 209 ; in Ameri- 
can Civil War, 234, 235, 241, 
242 ; conflict of opinions, 237 

Boer War, non- justiciable, 173 ; 
M. on, 188 

Boers, mental attitude, 187 ; Lord 
Roberts on, 188 

Bosnia-Herzegovina, 191 

Bosphorus, 211 



Bosto7i, U.S.S., 162 

Boswell, 273 

Brass tablet, 260 

Brathwaite, Dr. F. G., x, 62 

Bridge, Admiral Sir Cyprian, 40, 
45, 235 (note) 

Bridges, Robert, x, 282 

Britain, 3, 13 ; British Empire, 
105 ; maritime supremacy of, 
49 ; M.'s lesson to, 143 ; and 
warnings, 140, 141, 213, 214; 
the beneficent coloniser, 215 ; 
sympathy with America, 223 ; 
solidarity of, 281 ; tribute from 
M., 281, 305 

Britain and the World's Peace, 157, 
158, appendix 

British Army, 141 (note) ; annihi- 
late Prussian Guard, 141 (note) 

British Columbia, coolie immi- 
grants, 203 

British officer, M. eulogises, 187 

British Transport Service, M.'s 
praise of, 186 

Brooklyn Eagle, on Freedom of the 
Seas, 154, 155 

Brownell, Atherton, 279 

Browning, Robert, 270 

Buckingham, Lieut., 34 

Buff on, 246 (note), 251 

Bullen, Frank, eulogy of British 
mercantile marine, 210 

Buller, General, 189 

Bunce, Admiral, 37 

Burrows, Captain Montague,R.N., 
66, 67 

Butler, Dr., Master of Trinity 
College, Cambridge, 72 

Cambridge, Duke of, 72, 103; 

notifies M. of award of Chesney 

Gold Medal, 103, 104; M.'s 

appreciation, 105 
Cambridge University confers 

degree of LL.D., 70-2 
Cambro-Briton, 41 (note) 
Campbell, John, historian, 27 
Canada, 205 ; undefended fron- 
tier, 220 ; loyalty, 220 ; hostage 

for peace, 220 
Canadian Pacific Railway vm- 

defended, 220 
Canning, 220, 221 
Capture of Private Property at Sea 

(Corbett), 153 
Caribbean Sea, 134 ; Germany's 

ambitions, 151 ; strategic 

features of, 191, 192 



INDEX 



347 



'Carnegie Institute, 285 

Carter, Frederick B., tribute to 

M., 262 (note) 
Century Club, 282 
Century Magazine, 112, 117, 203 
Chamberlain, Joseph, Anglo- 
American friendship, 216 (note) 
Chandler, Secretary, vigorous 

naval policy, 24, 161 
Charles I, King, 102, 102 (note) 
Charleston, surrender of, 17 
Chesney Gold Medal, 102-6 ; 
awarded to M., 103-5, 153 (note) 
Chesney, Sir George, 104, 106 
Cheston, Eugenia M., 285 
Chevalier, Michel, 27, 65 (note) 
Chicago, U.S.S., 61, 62, 63, 70, 78, 

79, 162, 164 
'Chichester, Captain, 223 (note) 
Choate, Hon. Joseph, 145 
Church of the Atonement, 
Quogue, L.I., brass tablet, 260 ; 
M.'s regular attendance, 262 
Churchill, Winston, 263 
Churchman, The, 269 
Clark, Admiral Sir Bouverie, ix, x, 
23, 65, 86, 124, 178; on his 
friendship with M., 179, 180, 
184 ; Director of Transports, 
186; praise from M., 186; 
friendly tribute to M., 189 ; 193, 
210, 272, 273, 274, 284 
Clarke, Sir George Sydenham 
(now Lord Sydenham), tribute 
to M., 133, 134; onM.'sstates- 
manshiiD,190 ; criticises M., 201- 
203; 216 (note) ; Anglo-Ameri- 
can reunion, 217 
Clarke, Herbert, 248 
Clas Merdin, 41 
Clausewitz, 26, 209 
Cleveland, President, Venezuela 

incident, 183, 202 
Clover, Commander Richardson, 

88 
Club of Naval Officers, Tokyo, 114 
Coke, Sir Edward, 41, 41 (note) 
Colbert, 27 

Collier, Robert J., 118, 119 
Collier's Weekly, 118, 119 
Collomb, Admiral, 26, 41 ; on 

M.'s style, 255 
Columbia University Quarterly, 129 
Commander - in - Chief, Channel 

Squadron, entertains M., 77 
Commerce destroying, 236 
Concentration, principle of naval 
strategy, 138 



Congress, U.S. frigate, 14, illus- 
tration facing 14 
Congressional Record, The, M. 

and Sims on A.B.G. ships, 212 
Connaught, H.R.H. Duke of, 62 
Constantin'ople, 184 
Constellation, U.S. frigate, 37 
" Contemptible little Army," The, 

142 (note) 
Contraband, 153 

Converse, Admiral George A., 167 
Cook, Frances Kent, 222 
Coolie immigrants, Roosevelt on, 

203 
Cooper, Fenimore, 7, 12 
Corbett, Sir Julian, on capture of 

private property at sea,144, 153, 

153 (note), 154 
Cornwallis, General, 18, 231, 232, 

233, 239 
Co)Tespondence and Commentaries, 

Napoleon, 49 
Court, British, influence of, 281 
Cowles, Admiral William S., 108 

(note) 
Cressy, H.M.S., 293 
Crete, 191 

Crowninshield, Admiral, 88 
Crozier, Captain M. W., 94 
Cuba, strategic value of, 191, 192 

Dahlgren, Admiral, 17 

Daily Mail, editor of, x,190 (note); 
Britain and the world's peace, 
157, 158, 190 ; M.'s warnings, 
213, 213 (note), 214, Appendix 

Daily Telegraph, M. predicts sur- 
render German fleet, 209 

Dale, Admiral Arthur Taylor, 186 

Daniels, Hon. Josephus, Secretary 
of the Navy, x, 36, 102, 150 
(note), 181 (note), 263, 275, 286; 
tribute to M., 289 

Dardanelles, control of, 184 ; im- 
pregnability of, 211 

Dartmouth confers LL.D., 107 ; 
M.'s address at, 262 

Darwin, 245 

Davison, Charles Stewart, x, 145 
(note) ; see Appendix 

Day, Hon. William A., on moral 
victory, 219 

Despotism and Liberty, 221, 221 
(note) 

Devine, Edward T., 280 

Dewey, Admiral George, 150 ; 
first President General Board, 
167 



348 



INDEX 



Disraeli, 182 

Dorking, The Battle of, 106 

Drinkwater, account of battle of 

St. Vincent, 79 
Ducie, Earl of, 79 
Dutch Navy League, 108 

East London, 248 

Eberle, Admiral E. W., x, 7 

Edison, Thomas E., 48 

Edinburgh Revieiv, 45 

Edward VII, H.M. King, 62 ; M. 

invited to meet, 72 
Efficiency, definition of, 58 
Egypt, 193 

Elizabeth, Queen, 73, 188 (note) 
Elliot, Dr. Charles W., 263, 280 
Enchantress, Government yacht, 

61 
Enemies of human progress, 227 
England, 41, 57, 68 ; as mistress 

of the seas, 77 ; finds her brains, 

218 ; preservation of peace, 

218, 219 ; irreproachable Court 

of, 281 
English people, 68, 77 
English Princesses visit flagship 

Chicago, 62 
Equitable Life Assurance Society, 

U.S.A., 219, 282 
Erben, Admiral, 61, 63, 64 
Evans, Admiral Robley, 108, 108 

(note) 
Evening Post, The, 78 

Faisneau, Newport, 37 

Farnol, Jeffery, 21, 296 

Farquhar, Admiral Norman, 10 

Farragut, Admiral, Life of, 53, 54 ; 
greater than Grant, 56 ; life of, 
78 

Farragut, Loyall, 24, 54 

Fiennes, Gerard, 132 

Fighting Fleets, 223 

Fiske, Admiral Bradley, x ; tri- 
bute to naval power and Great 
Britain, 76-7; 130; how M. 
stimulated growth of navies, 
132,133; 168 (note) ; pen pic- 
ture of M., 299 ; 305 

Flying Squadron, 186 

Folger, Admiral William M., 108 
(note) 

Forum, The, 112 

Fouche, Joseph, 131 

Fournier, L., 127 

Fox, Charles James, 49 

Fox, Captain G. V., 16 



France, British Fleet protects, 

141 ; Battle of the Marne, 141 ; 
Paris and the Channel ports, 

142 ; France " perfide," not 
England, 305 

Frederic, Harold, 84 

Frederick the Great, 266 

Freedom of the Seas, 144-60 ; 
German catch-phrase, 145 ; M. 
intervenes, 145 ; warns Presi- 
dent, 145-7 ; General Board's 
opinion, 150-2 ; President 
Wilson's formula, 154 ; Admiral 
Sims defines, 157 ; see Appendix 

Freeman, Edward, 40 

Free Trade, M.'s views on, 182 

Fremantle, Admiral Sir Edmund, 
45 

From, Sail to Steam, 10, 12, 19 
(note), 23, 71 ; pviblished, 123, 
124; 178 ; estimate of Pitt, 234 ; 
commerce destroying, 236; 246 
(note), 256 (note), 259 

Future in Relation to Am^erican 
Naval Power, The, 161, 336 

Gailor, Bishop, 263 

General Board of the Navy, ques- 
tion immunity private property 
at sea, 148, 149 ; opinion of, 
150-2 ; advocates close rela- 
tions with England, 151, 152; 
establishment of, 167, 168 

Genius, definition of, 112 

George V, H.M. King, 62; as 
Master of Trinity House, 72 

German Emperor, 107 ; " devotir- 
ing " telegram to Poultney 
Bigelow, 131 ; admirer of M., 
132 ; champions growth of 
Navy, 132 ; message to Kruger, 
186 

German people violate stipula- 
tions Hague Conference, 94, 97, 
144; 156 

Germany violates Hague conven- 
tions, 94, 97, 144 ; maritime 
vulnerability, 146 ; desirous 
extending colonies, 151 ; sub- 
marine piracy, 154 ; psychology 
of, 155 ; British Navy sole 
power to control, 172 ; force 
alone prevented plunder of 
civilised world, 173 ; menace 
of, 181, 182 ; inevitable tenden- 
cies of, 190, 191 ; African terri- 
tory, 197 ; Roosevelt's feelings 
towards, 204 ; M.'s views, 204— 



INDEX 



34^ 



206 ; possible heir to Holland 

and Dutch colonies, 205 ; M.'s 

warnings, 213, 214 ; despotism, 

221 ; responsibility for war, 281, 

282 
Gibraltar, Governor of, entertains 

M., 77 
Giddings, Prof. Franklin H., 280 
Gladstone, W. E., 46 
" Go," signal to British fleet, 141 
"God or chance," 266 
Goodrich, Admiral Caspar, x, 29, 

45, 78 ; extols M.'s Sea Power 

in its Relations to the War of 

1812, 125, 137, 138 
Grasse, Admiral de, 231, 232, 233 

(note) 
Graviere, Admiral Jurien de la, 

235 (note) 
Greene, Commander Samuel Dana, 

10, 24 
Greene, Sir W. Graham, 291 
Greer, Bishop David H., 266, 271 
Guadaloiipe, 197 
Guild, Ciu-tis, 280 
Oidf and Inland Waters, The, 23, 29 
Gulf of Mexico, 134 ; strategic 

features of, 191, 192 
Gurney, 185 

Hague Conference 1899, 94-101 ; 

poison gases, 94-7 ; Monroe 

doctrine, 97, 98 ; M.'s logic, 99, 

100; 145; see Bibliography 

Hague Conference, Second, 145, 

149 
Hague War Regulations violated 

by Germans, 144 
Hale, Senator, 230 
Halifax, 41 
Hall, George G., x 
Hall, William Briggs, 9, 10 
HalVs International Law, mari- 
time capture, 152, 153 (note) 
Halsey, Francis W., on M.'s style, 

253 
Hamilton, Admiral Sir Vesey, 64 
Hamley, Sir Edward Bruce, 26 
Hannav, David, criticises M., 254, 

255 " 
Hannibal, inability to use sea 

power, 25 ; 49 
Harbord, Colonel James G., 172 
Harper & Brothers, 123, 124 
Harper'' s New Monthly, 112 
Harrison, President, new era for 

American Navy, 162 
Hart, Albert Bushnell, 280 



Harvard confers LL.D., 107 ; 263 

Harvest Within, The, 126, 259, 28& 

Hatfield House, 73 

Hawaii, 204 

Hay, Hon. John, 63, 147, 194, 195;. 

Life of, "257 (note) 
Hazing, 10 

Herbert, Secretary, 33, 34 
Higginson, Captain Francis J., 91, 

92 ; complimentary letter from,. 

136 
Hillman, Lieut. Lemiael, x 
History of the Consulate and Em- 
pire, Thiers' s, 49 
History of France, Henri Martin's,. 

27 
History of Rome, Mommsen's, 26, 

27 
History of the United States, M.'s 

intention to write, 283 
Hogue, H.M.S., 293 
Holder, Lieut. -Colonel A., 106 
Holls, Fredk. W., 94, 98 
Hood, Admiral, 232 
Hornby, Admiral Sir Geoffrey 

Phipps, 26, 45, 46, 63 
House in the Wood, The, 94 
Howe, Admiral Lord, 65, 65 (note) 
Howland, William B., 278 
Hunt, Secretary, vigorous naval 

policy, 161 
Hunter, John W., 280 

Imperial Democracy, 182 

Independent, The, 277 

Influence of Sea Power upon the 
French Revolution and Em,pire, 
The, helps save War College, 34 ; 
publication of, 49 ; opinion of 
Sir John Laughton, 49 ; other 
opinions, 50-2, 53 ; Chesney 
Gold Medal, 104; 165; opinion 
oi Athena:um, 194; 211, 292 

Influence of Sea Power vpon His- 
tory, The, lectures the necleus 
of, 39 ; publication, 45 ; recep- 
tion of, 45-7 ; question of origin- 
ality, 47, 48 ; compared with 
Influence Sea Power French Re- 
volution, 49 ; opinion of War 
Department, 51; 101 ; Chesney 
Gold Medal, 104; 113; Ad- 
miral Fiske on, 130 ; " de- 
voured " by Kaiser, 155 ; dawn 
of new era, 162; 211, 242 (note) ; 
fascinating, 253 ; world-wide 
influence, 286, 287 ; 292 ; see 
Bibliography 



^50 



INDEX 



Inside of the Cup, The, M.'s 
criticism of, 263 

Interest of America in Inter- 
national Conditions, 127 ; warn- 
ing to Britain, 140; 154, 191 ; 
predictions about the late war, 
208-10 ; see Bibliography 

Interest of America in Sea Power, 
Present and Future, 112, 114; 
translated into Japanese, 116; 
effort to awaken public opinion, 
165 ; Sydenham Clarke's 

criticisms of, 201 ; Anglo- 
American re-union, 215 ; see 
Bibliography 

International Law, 146 ; mari- 
time capture, 152, 153 (note) ; 
197-9 

Irish vote, 305 

Iroquois, steam-sloop, 18 

Isthmus of Panama, 191 

Italy, M. predicts abandonment 
of Triple AUiance, 209, 214 

-Jamaica, strategic value, 191 ; 

dramatic history, 192 
James Adger, U.S.S., 15, 17 
James, William, 27, 65 (note) 
Jane's Fighting Ships, opinion of 

new American Dreadnoughts, 

164 (note) 
Jefferson, Thomas, 221, 221 (note), 

222 
Jeune, Sir Francis (afterwards 

Lord St. Helier), entertains M., 

73 ; on M. and command of the 

sea, 135 
Johnson, Prof. Emory, 280 
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 5 ; on 

friendship, 178; 245, 273 
Johnston, J. Herbert, x 
Jomini, 26, 27, 49, 57 (note), 65 

(note), 130, 235 
Jones, Inigo, 102, 103 (note) 
Jordan, Dr. David Starr, 280 
Justiciable and non-justiciable, 

197, 198, 203, 204 
Jutland, battle of, 155 

Kaempffert, Waldemar, 280 

Kaneko, Hon. Kentaro, writes 
preface to Japanese translation 
of M.'s Interest of America in Sea 
Power, Present and Future, 116, 
117 

Keppel, Admiral Sir Henry, 62 

JCimberley, Earl of, 68 

Jiipling, Rudyard, 41 



Kitchener, Lord, commends West 

Point Military Academy, 4 ; 155 
Kittelle, Commander Sumner E., 

U.S.N., 150, 167 
Knight, Admiral Austin Melvin, 36 
Kobe and Osaka, treaty ports, 

opening of, 18 
Kruger, Paul, message from 

Kaiser, 186 ; M.'s estimate of, 

189 



Labouchere, Henry, 99 

Lafayette, General, 3 

La Perouse-Bonfils, 27 

Latin- Americans, M.'s views on, 
182, 183 

Laughton, Sir J. K., vi, 26, 41, 45, 
49, 93 ; influence of the Sea 
Power books, 135 ; on M., 300 

League of Nations, 174 (note), 175 

Leigh, Dr. A. Austen, Vice- Chan- 
cellor, Cambridge University, 
70 

Leslie's Magazine, 112, 277, 279 

Lessons of the War with Spain, 92, 
112; Puerto Rico, 192, 193; 
see Bibliography 

Lei'ant, sloop-of-war, 14 

Life of Doctor Sanderson, The, 302 

Life of Farragut, 53, 54, 78 

Life of General Grant, 54 

Life of George Herbert, The, 302 

Life of Napoleon, 248 

Life of Nelson, The, 78-87 ; 6,000 
copies sold, 84 ; eulogies of, 81- 
84 ; M.'s ambitions concerning, 
87 ; 104, 112 ; worth shipload of 
treaties, 206; 211 ; praised by 
Spectator, 252 ; criticised by 
David Hannay, 254, 255 ; 292, 
302 ; see Bibliography 

Lion,B.M.S., 164(note) 

Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 83, 
127 

Little, Captain McCarty, 32, 57 
(note), 75 

Little Navyites routed by M., 305 

Liverpool Philomathic Society, 
47, 251, 296 (note) 

Livy, 49 

Lloyd George, David, 218 

Lodge, Senator Henry Cabot, x, 
59, 117, 196; Monroe doctrine, 
197 ; on arbitration treaties, 
199 ; battleships, 200 ; Japan- 
ese question, 200 

London, M.'s liking for, 303 



INDEX 



351 



Long, Secretary, eulogises Naval 
War Board, 89 ; 103, 104; story 
about M., 201 ; 223 (note) 

Lord Mayor of London, 63 

Loreburn, Lord, 145 

Lotos Ckib, 282 

Louis XIV, 249 

Low, Hon. Seth, 94 ; illustration 
facing 96 ; eulogy of M., 101 

Luce, Admiral Stephen B., 24, 25, 
28, 28 (note), 29, 31, 44, 45, 59, 
108 

McCalla, Admiral Bowman H., 
letter of appreciation, 165, 166 

Meaellan, General, 4, 189 

McClure's, 112, 206 

McCook, Commander Roderick, 
10 

Macedonian, U.S.S., 17 

McGill University confers LL.D., 
107 

McKinley, President, 201 

Madison, President James, 221, 
221 (note), 222 

Mahan, Admiral Alfred Thayer : 
birth, 1 ; Irish Catholic grand- 
parents, 1 ; pronunciation of 
name, 2 (note), 297 (note) ; be- 
comesProtestant, 3; admiration 
for the English people, 3 ; goes 
to school at Hagerstown, Md., 4; 
goes to Columbia, 4 ; revels in 
stories of naval life, 5 ; sees 
Jefierson Davis, 5 ; nominated 
for Naval Academy, 5 ; ap- 
pointed acting midshipman, 6 ; 
goes to Annapolis, 7 ; his 
standing in class, 8 ; intellec- 
tual qualities, 8 ; sits for paint- 
ing of Rose Standish, 9 ; jumps 
one year's class, 9 ; his fond- 
ness for registers and time- 
tables, 9; Class" 55 Date," 9; 
hazing, 10 ; clumsy fingers, 10 ; 
opinion of usual version of 
attack at Trafalgar, 11 ; comet 
of 1858, 11 ; not allowed to 
read Uncle Toni's Cabin, 11 ; 
the wisdom of never contriving 
an opportunity, 12 ; on keeping 
servants waiting, 12 ; the 
manywhere British soldier, 13 ; 
appointed to U.S. frigate Con- 
gress, \4:; promoted lieutenant, 
15 ; serves on U.S.S. James 
Adger, 15 ; active service 
U.S.S. Pocahontas, South Atlan- 



tic Blockading Squadron, 15 ;. 
suggests construction of 
"mystery ship," 15 ; first lieu- 
tenant Macedonian, 17 ; or- 
dered to Seminole, West Gulf 
Blockading Squadron, 17 ; on 
■ staff of Admiral Dahlgren, 17 ; 
sends his savings to Southern 
officers, 17; serves on Mwscoota,. 
18 ; tropical fever, 18 ; pro- 
moted lieutenant-commander, 
1 8 ; ordnance duty, Washington 
Navy Yard, 18 ; appointed to 
steam-sloop /rog'wois, 18; " Ma- 
han's Valley," 18 ; commands- 
gunboat Aroostook, 18; returns 
home by way of India, 18 ; six 
months' leave in Europe, 18 ; 
the awakening, 19, 20 ; leisure ta 
write, 21 ; promoted comman- 
der, 21 ; commands Wasp, 21 ; 
shore duty, 21 ; commands- 
steam -sloop Wachusett, 21; 
marriage, 21 ; family life, 22^ 
23 ; in a new world of thought, 
23 ; military ideas, 23 ; his 
first book, 23 ; influence of 
Mommsen's History of Rome, 25; 
accepts Luce's invitation, 25,. 
29, 30 ; his lack of qualifica- 
tions, 26 ; the plan formed, 26 ;; 
exhaustive research, 26, 27 ; 
arrival at War College, 30, 31 ; 
overcomes all opposition, 31 ; 
he saves the College, 34, 35 ; 
President of the College, 38 ; 
the first lectures, 38, 39 ; sent 
to Puget Sound to select Navy 
Yard site, 38, 38 (note) ; adop- 
tion of term " Sea Power," 42 ; 
conception of original lectures,. 
42, 43, 44 ; publication of The 
Influence of Sea Power upon 
History, 45 ; instant recogni- 
tion, 45 ; translations into 
foreign languages, 45 ; tributes 
from many distinguished men, 
45-7 ; claim to originality, 47, 

48 ; process of his literary evo- 
lution, 48 ; publishes The Iiv- 
fluence of Sea Power upon the 
French Revolution and Empire, 

49 ; opinions of Sir J. Laugh- 
ton, 49, 50; W. O'Connor 
Morris, 50 ; the London Times, 

50 ; U.S. War Department, 51^ 
52 ; the lessons of his master- 
pieces, 52 ; again appointed 



552 



INDEX 



President of Naval War College, 
53 ; publishes Life of Admiral 
Farragut, 53 ; applies for ex- 
tension of shore leave, 57, 68 ; 
refused, 57 ; appointed to com- 
mand of Chicago, 61 ; invita- 
tion from Earl Spencer, 61 ; 
dines with Viceroy of Ireland, 
61 ; invited to dinner by Queen 
Victoria, 61 ; meets the Prince 
of Wales, the Duke of York, 
and others, 62 ; entertained at 
Havre, 63 ; kindness of Mr. 
Schiff's family, 63 ; Sampson 
Low dinner in his honour, 63 ; 
public banquet, 63 ; enter- 
tained by Royal Navy Club, 64, 
65 ; Oxford, degree of D.C.L., 
66-8; Cambridge, degree of 
LL.D., 70-2 ; Corporation of 
Trinity House invites to meet 
Prince of Wales, 72 ; courtesy 
of Lord Rosebery, 72, 73 ; 
dinner and ball at Buckingham 
Palace, 73 ; lion of the London 
season, 74 ; his name men- 
tioned for Chair Modern His- 
tory, Cambridge, 75 ; writes 
Life of Nelson, 79 ; method of 
writing biography, 79, 80 ; 
lectures on Nelson, 80 ; reviews 
of Life of Nelson, 81, 82 ; letter 
from Lord Nelson, 82, 83 ; 
appointed to Naval War Board, 
■88 ; cables suggestions naval 
strategy, 88, 89 ; travels in- 
cognito from Italy, 89 ; recom- 
mends undivided responsibility 
adviser on naval affairs, 89, 90 ; 
■on Sampson-Schley controversy, 
90 ; reports on Naval War 
Board, 93 ; delegate to first 
Hague Conference, 94 ; attitude 
on poison gases, 94-7 ; em- 
barrasses Mr. White, 100 ; tri- 
bute from Seth Low, 101 ; 
naval strength and peace, 101 ; 
awarded Chesney Gold Medal, 
102-6 ; his service to Great 
Britain, 106 ; retires after 
forty years, 107 ; special duty 
at Naval War College, 107 ; 
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dart- 
mouth, and McGill confer 
degrees, 107 ; President Ameri- 
can Historical Association, 107; 
honorary member of literary 
.societies, 107, 108 ; birthday 



congratulations, 108 ; reorgani- 
sation of Navy Department, 
108 ; on National Defence, 109 ; 
lectures at Naval War College, 
111 ; detached from official 
duty, 111 ; contribiites articles 
to numerous magazines, 112; 
publication of The Interest of 
America in Sea Power Present 
and Future, Lessons of the War 
with Spain, The Problem of 
Asia, Retrospect and Prospect, 
Some Neglected Aspects of War, 
Naval Administration and War- 
fare, Armaments and Arbitra- 
tion, 112, 113; invited to 
write for Atlantic Monthly, 113 ; 
Japanese and other translations, 
114; Senator Lodge's opinion, 
117 ; publishes Types of Naval 
Officers, 117 ; and The Story of 
the War in South Africa, 118; 
German translation thereof, 
118; French translation of 
The Interest of America itt Sea 
Power, 119; produces From 
Sail to Steam, 123 ; The Har- 
vest Withi}i, 126 ; Major Opera- 
tions of the Navies in the War 
of Am,erican Independence, 126 ; 
The Interest of America in 
International Conditions, 127 ; 
and Naval Strategy, 127; 
lectures in Boston, 126 ; French 
translation of Naval Strategy, 
127 ; " Buy more Mahan," 128 ; 
showed how sea power over- 
came Napoleon, 130 ; gives 
enemy England's whole system 
of peace, 131 ; books translated 
into German, 132 ; influence 
upon German Emperor, 131, 
132 ; upon foreign navies, 133 ; 
upon British naval policy, 133 ; 
tributes from distinguished men, 
134-5 ; regeneration of British 
Navy traced to, 135, 136 ; pen- 
sion for widow, 137 ; $1.20 de- 
ducted from pay, 137 ; doctrine 
of concentration, 138 ; world- 
wide influence, 138, 139, 140, 
141 ; warning Britain, 140, 141 ; 
warns President danger immu- 
nity private property at sea, 
145-7 ; on British political 
parties, 146 ; Germany's vul- 
nerability at sea, 146 ; Anglo- 
American community of inter- 



INDEX 



353 



ests, 147 ; Anglo-Saxon civlisa- 
"tion saved, 159, 160 ; influence 
begins to be felt, 162 ; defini- 
tion of Monroe doctrine, 165 ; 
efiorts to stimulate increase of 
American Navy, 1 65 ; his share 
in establishment General Board, 
167, 168 ; Admiral Sims's tri- 
bute, 169, 170 ; his great part 
in creation of American Navy, 
171 ; peace views, 172, 173, 175, 
176 ; advocated strong Ameri- 
can Navy, 175 ; in British Navy 
best hope for peace, 176 ; 
warns posterity, 176 ; shyness, 
178 ; friendship with Admiral 
Sir Bouverie Clark, 178-89 ; a 
staiuich Republican, 180 ; im- 
pressions of Democratic Party, 
180, 181 ; anti-Home Ruler, 
181 ; disapproves of Liberal 
Government, 181 ; no sym- 
pathy with Anglo- Japanese 
alliance, 181 ; no use for the 
Turk, 181 ; the menace of Ger- 
many, 181 ; his common sense, 
182; on free trade, 182 ; on the 
Latin-American, 182, 183 ; 
praises British Transport Service, 

186 ; eulogises British officer, 

187 ; as statesman, 190-207 ; 
his foresight, 190 ; his warnings, 
190 ; Gvilf of Mexico and Carib- 
bean Sea, 191, 192 ; apprecia- 
tion of Roosevelt, 194 ; high 
praise from Athenceum, 194 ; 
on Channel tunnel, 196 ; on 
Monroe Doctrine and Arbitra- 
tion Treaties, 197, 198 ; on 
international law, 197-9 ; 
Sydenham Clarke's criticisms, 
201-3 ; " incapable of advo- 
cating wrongdoing," 203 ; on 
Germany and the Monroe Doc- 
trine, 204-6 ; qualities of a 
statesman, 207 ; as prophet, 
208-14 ; predicts details of late 
war, 209, 214 ; lack of sym- 
pathy with Germany, 208 ; pre- 
dicts surrender German fleet, 
209 ; importance mercantile 
marine, 210 ; unceasing advo- 
cate of more battleships, 210 ; 
Admiral Sims not in agreement, 
212, 213 ; warnings about Ger- 
many, 213, 214 ; his share in 
winning war, 143, 160, 177, 214 ; 
sound judgment, 214 ; Anglo- 



American re-union, 215-17, 223, 
224, 227 ; message to America, 
228-44 ; fearless accuracy, 231 ; 
on commerce destroying, 236 ; 
immunity private property, 
237 ; appreciation of British, 
■237 ; on sea power in American 
Civil War, 241, 242 ; a public 
benefactor, 244 ; literary traits, 
245-56 ; neology, 247 ; hand- 
writing, 247 ; a purist, 250 ; 
style reflects character, 251 ; 
criticised by David Hannay, 
254-5 ; inelegancies, 255 ; one 
of Forty Immortals, 255 ; his 
priceless message to mankind, 
256 ; greatest writer America 
has produced, 256 ; religious 
convictions, 257-71 ; literary 
beauty of the Bible, 257 ; prone- 
ness to ill-temper, 258 ; trusted 
by all, 258 ; spiritual beliefs, 
259 ; generosity, 260, 261 ; 
brass tablet to, 260 ; extols 
Hope, 261, 262 ; Revision of 
Prayer Book, 263 ; supports 
foreign missions, 264 ; Seamen's 
Church Institute, 264, 265 ; 
" best informed man upon war,' ' 
264; his spiritual message, 269 ; 
irreproachable conduct, 271 ; 
promoted Rear-Admiral, 272 ; 
physical vitality, 273 ; his Long 
Island home, 273, 274 ; lucra- 
tive offers, 274, 277-9 ; " muz- 
zled," 275 ; ajjpeals from 
" muzzling order," 275, 276 ; 
tribute to British fleet, 281 ; Ger- 
many's reponsibility for war, 
281, 282 ; his favourite clubs, 
282 ; waning strength, 284 ; 
peaceful end, 284-95 ; funeral, 
285 ; goodness and humility, 
285 ; obituary notices, 286-92 ; 
apprehensions shovild Germany 
prevail, 294 ; his place in his- 
tory, 296 ; opinion of, 297, 
298 ; no orator, 298 ; cause 
of lack of recognition, 298 ; 
natural literary tendencies, 298; 
a sound strategist, 299 ; devo- 
tion to duty, 299 ; world-en- 
compassing mind, 299, 300 ; 
physique and appearance, 300 ; 
his voice and eyes, 300 ; 
strength of character and shy- 
ness, 301 ; indifference to dress, 
301 ; as husband and father, 



354 



INDEX 



301 ; friend, 302 ; surf bath- 
ing and bicycling, 303 ; sound 
common sense, 303 ; opposed 
to female suffrage, 303 ; 
lucidity and sincerity, 304 ; 
absent-mindedness, 304 ; essen- 
tially a teacher, 306 ; no monu- 
ment to his memory, 306 ; 
mental distress about German 
Navy, 306 
Mahan, Mrs. Alfred Thayer, vii, 
X ; her marriage, 21 ; source of 
encouragement to her husband, 
22 ; her children, 22 ; question 
of pension, 137 ; 166, 243 
types hiisband'sMSS.,247; 271 
home in Long Island, 273, 274 
tribute from British Ambassa- 
dor, 283 
Mahan, Master Alfred Thayer, 22 
Mahan, Commodore Dennis Hart, 

22 
Mahan, Prof. Dennis Hart, 1, 2, 4 
Mahan, Miss Ellen Evans, 22 
Mahan, Major Frederick, 22, 60 
Mahan, Miss Helen Kuhn, 22 
Mahan, Miss Jane Leigh, x, 23 
Mahan, Lvle Evans, 22 
Mahan, Rev. Milo, 4, 266 
Mahan Hall, Annapolis, 8, illus- 
tration facing 8 
Mahan on Naval Warfare, Dr. 

Allan Westcott, 8, 154 
Mahan, U.S. destroyer, 306 

(note) 
Mahan's Counsels to the United 
States, Sydenham Clarke's 
criticisms, 201-3 
Major Operations of the Navies in 
the War of American Indepen- 
dence, 126, 272 
Malta, 193 

Manila, battle of, 162, 223 (note) 
Manning, Dr. William Thomas, 219 
Marcus Aurelius, x, 175 
Marengo, Napoleon's charger, 103 
Margin of naval strength, 130-43 
predominating influence of, 130 
M.'s responsibility for, 130 
saves France, 141, 142 ; saves 
the world, 142, 143 
Marine engineering, effect of M.'s 

books, 305 
Marine Rundschau, M.'s lack of 

sympathy with Germany, 208 
Maritime commerce, M. studies 
• trade statistics, 27; 133, 144, 
146, 237 



Mame, battle of the, 141, 142 

Marryat, Captain Frederick, 7, 12^ 

Marshall, General W. L., 109 (note) 

" Marshmere," 185 (note), 273, 
274 

Marston, R. B., 42. 48, 83, 84, 119, 
196, 292, 293 ; M.'s last letter 
to, 293, 294 

Martinique, 191, 197 

Maxse, L. J., editor National 
Review, 119-23 

Mercantile marine, its supreme 
importance, 209, 210 ; Frank 
BuJlen on British, 210 (note) 

Merrimac, iron-clad, 14 

Milford Haven, Admiral the Mar- 
quess of, 66 

Minakami, M., translates into 
Japanese The Interest of 
America in Sea Power, 116 

Mississippi, mouth of, 191 

Mississippi, U.S.S., 164 (note) 

Mona Passage, 191 

Monitor, iron-clad, 10 

Monroe doctrine, M.'s interven- 
tion at Hague Confererice, 97- 
9 ; American declaration, 99 ; 
M.'s definition of, 165, 173; 
non - justiciable, 173 ; M.'s 
views, 197, 198 ; impossible to 
arbitrate, 204; M. on, 204-6; 
origin of, 220, 221 ; 241 

Monroe, President, 221, 221(note), 
222 

Moody, Hon. Wm. H., 108 (note) 

Moore, Prof. John Bassett, 284, 
284 (note) 

Morley of Blackburn, Viscoiuit, 61 

Morning Post, The (London), 
appreciation of M., 208 ; eulogy 
of M., 287, 288; 299 

Morris, William O'Connor, 50, 53, 
248 

Morton, Hon. Paul, 108 (note) 

Murphy, Major Grayson, 219 

Murray, Congressman Ambrose S., 
5 

Muscoota, U.S.S., 18 



Napoleon the Great, M. studies, 
26, 27, 49, 50 ; cause of down- 
fall, 130, 169; 193, 306 

National Review, 112, 119-23 

Naval Administration and Warfare, 
90, 108, 112; see Bibliography 

Naval and Military Museum, 102, 
103 



INDEX 



355 



Naval History Society library, 
New York, 92 

Naval War Board, Washington, 
88-93 ; M. appointed to, 88 ; 
see Bibliography 

Naval War College, Newport, 
establishment of, 24, 28, 29 ; 
arrival of M., 30 ; his efforts to 
save, 31 ; 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 
38, 39, 53, 169 

Naval Strategy, 127, 128 ; French 
translation, 127 ; warning to 
Britain, 140 ; impregnability 
of Dardanelles, 211 

Navies, American : 7, 7 (note), 35 ; 
expenditures, 140 ; indifference 
towards, 161 ; birth of the new 
Navy, 161 ; dawn of new era, 
162 ; condition in 1903, 163 ; 
naval programme of 1916, 163 ; 
new battleships and cruisers, 
163, 164; takes second place, 
164 (note) ; Jane's opinion of 
new ships, 164 (note) ; Naval 
War Budget, 164 (note) ; in- 
fluence of General Board, 167 ; 
M.'s great part in creation of, 

171 ; eulogy of, 223. British : 
margin of strength over that of 
Germany, 130 ; expenditures, 
140 ; saves France, 141, 142 ; 
and the world, 142, 143 ; lesson 
to Central Military Powers, 142, 
143 ; 151 ; effective blockade by, 
156 ; benefits America, 156 ; 
Admiral Sims on, 157 ; Queen 
Elizabeth and Lion, 164 (note) ; 
sole power to control Germany, 

172 ; best hope for peace, 176 ; 
Transport Service Boer War, 
186 ; a deterrent from war, 190 ; 
predominant influence of, 208 ; 
M. approves strategy, 280 ; M.'s 
tribute to, 281 ; predominance 
of, 294. German : inferior 
strength to that of Britain, 130 ; 
translations of M.'s books on 
every warship, 132 ; expendi- 
tures, 132, 140 ; growth in- 
fluenced by M., 133 ; Admiral 
Sims on, 157 ; M. predicts sur- 
render of, 209, 214 ; created by 
Influence of Sea Power upon 
History, 286 ; M.'s mental dis- 
tress about, 306. Japanese : 
117, 133; expenditures, 140; 
defeat of Russian fleet, 211, 
212 

24 



Navy as a Fighting Machine, 
The, 132, 168 (note) 

Navy Department, reorganisa- 
tion of, 108, 337 ; announce- 
ment of M.'s death, 292 

Navy League ■ of Great Britain, 
syiVipathy of, 289 

Navy Records Society, expres- 
sion of appreciation, 291 

Nelson, Admiral Lord, 50, 78-87 ; 
M. writes Life of, 79 ; M. lec- 
tures on, 80 ; Nelson the in- 
comparable, 85 ; presentiment 
of death, 85 ; cotirted death at 
Trafalgar, 188; 193, 233 

Nelson and his Biographers, 255 
(note) 

Nelson, Lord (the late Peer), 73, 
82, 83 

Neutrals, prejudicial to effective 
blockade, 159, 159 (note) 

New American Navy, The, 89 ; M. 
demolishes Secretary of War, 
201 

Newberry, Truman H., 149 

Newel, Hon. Stanford, 94 

Newport, Rhode Island, 13, 13 
(note) 

New York Press, eulogy of M., 240 

Nineteenth Century, 201 

Noel, Admiral of the Fleet Sir 
Gerard, 45 

North American Review, 112 ; 
Anglo-American re-union, 215; 
263 

North Sea, 138, 141, 157 



Offa, King of Mercia, 41 

Offence and defence compared, 

187 
Oman, Admiral Joseph Wallace, 

X, 53 (note) 
Organisation, 218 
Oriental Association of Tokyo, 

114, 115, 116 
Oxford, 66-70, 71 



Page, Walter Hines, 226 

Paine, Ralph, 223 

Panama Canal, M.'s article in 
Century, 203 

Parker, Commodore, x, 35 (note) 

Peace won by sea power, 177 ; will 
be preserved by, 177; cooperation 
American and British navies, 
175, 176, 217 ; raw materials. 



356 



INDEX 



176 (note) ; in British Navj^ best 
hope, 176 ; Canada a hostage 
for, 220 

Pears, Sir Edwin, 185 

Peloponnesian War, 49 

Peninsular War, Napier's, 23 

Pennsylvania, Dreadnought, 164, 
164 (note), 165 

Pensacola, 191 

Perrin, W. G., 291 

Persians, 274 

Peterborough, Bishop of, 68 

Philippines, 197 

Phillimore, Admiral Sir Augustus, 
46 

Pilgrims Society, 226 

Pitt, WiUiam, 35, 49, 233 ; M.'s 
estimate of, 234 

Poison gases, M.'s attitude on, 
94-7 ; Germany introduces, 94, 
97 

Polk, President James K., 7 

Pollock, Sir Frederick, on Life of 
Nelson, 206 

Porter, Admiral, 29 

Portland, Maine, 230 

Private property at sea subject 
to capture, 144-59 ; opinion of 
Sir Julian Corbett, 144, 153, 
164 ; M. warns President, 145- 
147 ; Elihu Root on immunity, 
148, 149 ; subject submitted to 
General Board, 149 ; traditional 
policy of United States, 150; 
General Board endorses M., 
150 ; Charles Stewart Davison 
on, 145 (note). Appendix ; M. 
on, 158, 237 

Problem of Asia, 112, 207, 223; 
see Bibliography 

Pronunciation of Mahan, 2 (note), 
297 (note) 

Prussianism, 156, 306 

Puerto Rico, strategical import- 
ance of, 192, 193 ; 197 

Queen Elizabeth, H.M.S., 164 (note) 

Radstock, Lord, 73 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 41, 208 
Ravenscroft, Conmiander G. M., 

X, 7 
Raw materials influence for peace, 

175 (note) 
Redfield, Hon. William C, x 
Reed, Senator, 230 
Religion, definition of, 270, 271 



Remey, Admiral George Collier, 
10 

Retrospect and Prospect, 17, 112, 
119 ; see Bibliography 

Rhodes, James Ford, tribute to 
M., 291 

Richard, Dr. Ernst, 280 

Rivojrre, Ensign, translates Naval 
Strategy into French, 127 

Roberts, Lord, 46, 62 ; wishes M. 
to write military history, 63 ; 
158 ; writes to Mahan, 187, 188 ; 
on Boers as tacticians, 188 

Rochambeau, General, 18, 231, 
232 

Rodgers, Admiral Raymond T., 
tribute to M., 290 

Rogers, Mrs., 37 

Roosevelt, Hon. Franklin, x 

Roosevelt, Hon. Theodore, x, 36, 
45 ; appeals for shore service 
for M., 59 ; 78, 79 ; appointed 
Naval War Board, 88 ; Roose- 
velt Rough Riders, 88 ; ap- 
points M. member of Commis- 
sion on Reorganisation Naval 
Department, 108 ; and Com- 
mission on Naval Defence, 109 ; 
popularity of 109, 1 10 ; letter 
of appointment to members of 
Commission, 110, 111 ; opinion 
of M., 139 ; feelings towards 
England, 203, 204 ; the '" one 
man." 204, 204 (note) ; warned 
by M. danger immxuiity private 
property at sea, 145-7 ; replies 
to M., 147, 148 ; eulogises M., 
171, 174, 193, 194 ; M.'s appre- 
ciation of, 194 ; on Alaskan 
boundary, 203 ; on coolie im- 
migrants, 203 ; Anglo-Ameri- 
can arbitration, 224, 225 ; 
Senatorial apprehension, 229, 
230 ; 243, 245 ; gives M. free 
hand, 277 (note) 

Root, Hon. Elihu, on immvmity 
private property at sea, 148, 
149 ; 199 

Rosebery, Earl of, 72, 73 

Rothschild, Lord, 73 

Royal Navy Club of 1765 and 
1785, 64, 65, 66 

Royal United Service Institxition, 
102-6 ; awards Chesney Gold 
Medal, 103-5 ; elects M. honor- 
ary member, 106 ; 300 

Rubens, 102 

Russia, predicted weakness of, 209 



INDEX 



357 



Saigo, Count, Japanese Minister 
of the Navy, 116 

St. Loe (or St. Lo), Captain G., 41 

St. Heller, Lord, see Jeune 

St. Kitts, 232 

St. Thomas, 191 

St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, 
Washington, 285 

St. Vincent, Admiral Lord, 50 

Saints, battle of the, 233 

Salamis, battle of, 11 (note) 

Salisbury, Marquess of, 72 ; en- 
tertains M. at Hatfield, 73 ; 298 

Sampson, Admiral William T., 17, 
29, 45 

Sampson Low, Marston & Co. 
give dinner in honour of M., 63 ; 
request opinion Channel tunnel, 
195 ; see Marston 

Sandys, Dr., Public Orator, Cam- 
bridge, 71 

Santa Lucia, 191 

Santiago, battle of, 162, 201 

Santo Domingo, 191 

Saumarez, Lord de, 135 

Schley, Admiral, 45 

Schroeder, Admiral Seaton, 167 

Schwartz, General C, 118 

Scott, Dr. James Brown, 237 

Scott, Sir Percy, 293 

Scribner's Magazine, 90, 112, 282 

Scudder, Horace E., invites M. to 
write for Atlantic Monthly, 113 

Sea, the, nature's highway, 216 ; 
potent factor in national pros- 
perity, 228 ; American indiffer- 
ence towards, 229 

Seamen's Church Institute, 264, 
264 (note) 

Sea of Japan, battle of, 211, 212 ; 
M.'s Reflections on, 211 ; Ad- 
miral Sims not in agreement, 
212, 213 

Sea Power, ix, 20, 27, 40,41, 48, 52; 
in the Pacific, 117 ; overcame 
Napoleon, 130 ; British Sea 
Power saves France, 141, 142 ; 
lesson of, to Central Military 
Powers, 142, 143 ; won peace, 
and will preserve it, 177 ; M. pre- 
dicts success of, 209, 214 ; Ad- 
miral Beatty on, 226 ; in 
American Civil War, 241, 242 ; 
sovereign virtue of, 287 ; sea 
power and M., 297 

Sea Power and Freedom, 132 

Sea Power in its Relations to the 
War of 1812, 57, 124, 125, 126, 166 



Sea Power in the Pacific Ocean, 
Japanese translation of The 
Interest of America in Sea Power, 
117 

Seeley, Prof. Sir John, 75 

Seminole, U.S.S., 17 

Se'rata, Admiral, 267 

Servia, 282 

Shakespeare, 41, 41 (note), 187 

Sheldon, Gilbert, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, 68 

Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, 68 

Shepherd, Prof. William R., 280 

Sherman, General, 10, 17, 28 

Sicard, Admiral Montgomery, 
88 

" Silent Pressure, The," 194 (note) 

Sims, Admiral William S., x ; in- 
fluence of M.'s doctrines, 133 ; 
tribute to British Fleet, 157 ; 
defines Freedom of the Seas, 
157 ; tribute to M., 168-70 ; 
bom vmder British flag, 170 ; 
differs with M. on A.B.G. ships, 
212, 213 ; description of, 223 

Single-ship combats, ineffective- 
ness of, 234-6 ; lesson for 
Englishmen, 235 (note) 

Sleicher, John A., 279 

Sloane, Prof. William Milligan, 
tribute to M., 129 

Smith, Rev. Ernest, 285 

Soley, Prof., 32 

Som,e Neglected Aspects of War, 
112, 153, 191 ; see Bibliography 

Sonnets of this Century, 248 

South Africa, coolie immigrants, 
203 

South America, German ambitions 
in, 151, 205 

South Atlantic Quarterly, 8 

Spanish-American War, 88-93 ; 
non- justiciable, 173 

Spectator, The, eulogy of M.'s Life 
of Nelson, 252 

Spencer, Earl, First Lord of the 
Admiralty, gives dinner in 
honour of M., 61 

Sperry, Admiral Charles S., 109, 
167 

Spirit of Missions, The, 264 

Spring-Rice, Cecil, British Am- 
bassador, tribute to M., 283 

Stanley of Alderley, Lord, 73 

Stevens and Brown, 281 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 246 

Stewart, Admiral Sir William 
Houston, 65 



358 



INDEX 



Stockton, Admiral Charles H., 22, 

37, 107; congratulates M., 161, 

162 ; appreciation of M., 268 
Story of the War in South Africa, 

118 ; German translation, 118 ; 

Admiral Clark's help, 180 ; 

British Transport Service, 186; 

189 ; see Bibliography 
Straight Deal or The Ancient 

Grudge, A, 137 (note) 
Strait of Florida, 191 
Style, definition of, 255, 256 
Submarine piracy, 154 
Suez Canal, 193 
Swift, Admiral WilUam, 167 
Swinburne, Admiral William T., 

167 
Sydenham, Lord, see Clarke 



Taylor, Austin, tributes to M., 
47, 251, 252, 296 

Taylor, Commander H. C, Presi- 
dent War College, 35 ; saves 
College, 36 ; initiates establish- 
ment General Board, 167 ; 167, 
168 

Teck, Duke of, 72 

Tennyson, 41 

Thatched House Tavern, St. 
James's Street, 102 

Thayer, General Sylvanus, 4 

Thayer, William Roscoe, 257 
(note) 

Thiers, 49 

Thomson, James, poet, 88 

Thucydides, 40 

Times, The (London), 46, 50, 292 

Times, The New York, 84 ; 
eulogy of M., 101 ; on M.'s 
style, 253 ; on his death, 286 

Tirpitz, Admiral von, builder of 
German Navy, 132 

Togo, Admiral Count, x ; tribute 
toM., 115 

Tracy, Secretary, initiative of, 34, 
162 

" Trafalgar," 82 

Trafalgar, battle of, 11, 33, 65 
(note) ; model of, 103 ; 155 ; 
Nelson courts death, 188 

Trask, Katrina, 207 

Trinity Church, Old New York, 
tribute to M. in Parish Record, 
288 

Trinity House, Corporation of, 
invites M. to meet Prince of 
Wales, 72 



Triple Alliance, 191 ; M. predicts 

Italy's secession from, 209 
Triple Entente, 191 ; M. predicts 

Italy's conversion to, 209 
Troude, Aimable Gilles, French 

Admiral, 65 (note) 
Truth, pen-picture of M., 99 
Turk, the, M.'s views on, 181, 184, 

185, 305 
Twentieth - Century Christianity, 

263 
Tyndall, Prof., tribute to M., 135 
Types of Naval Officers, 118 



Uncle Tom's Cabin, 11 

Undaunted, H.M.S., 287 

United States Naval Institute, 
eulogy of M., 135 ; regenera- 
tion of British Navy traced to 
him, 135 ; Proceedings of, 212, 
237 

University Club, New York, x, 
282 



Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 264 
Vanderlip, Frank, 280 
Venezuela incident, 183, 202 
Vernon-Mann, Mrs., x, 301 
Victoria, H.M. Queen, 62, 73 ; 

speaks kindly of M.'s books, 73 ; 

disciplines Kaiser, 186 
Victory of June 1, Lord Howe's, 

65, 65 (note) 
Victory, the, 188 



Wachusett, steam-sloop, 21, 25, 
29, 179 

Wainwright, Admiral Richard, 
109 (note), 167 

Wales, Prince of (afterwards 
King Edward VII), M. invited 
to meet, 62, 72 ; expresses wish 
that M. should attend Levee, 74 

Wales, Edward, Prince of, on 
Anglo - American tmderstand- 
ing, 224 

Walker, Admiral, 29, 45 

Walton, Izaak, 302 

War of Independence, the naval 
factor, 231 ; superior strength 
of French and Spanish fleets, 
231 ; Washington's foresight, 
231, 232 ; motive of French 
Government, 233 



INDEX 



359 



War of 1812, 234-6 ; sterile out- 
come of, 234 ; lesson for 
Englishmen, 235 (note) ; erro- 
neous impression of, 236 
Warburton, Frank, 265 
Wars of the French Republic, 

Jomini, 49, 65 
Washburn, Prof. H. C, 237 
Washington, George, letters to 
Lafayette and Rochambeau, 
231, 232, 233 (note) ; 239 
Wasp, U.S.S., 21 
Welsh, Hon. Charles, 6 
Wemyss, Admiral, 223 
West Indies, Germany's ambi- 
tions in, 151 
West Point, 1, 1 (note), 2, 2 (note) 
Westcott, Dr. Allan, 8, 154 
Wetherspoon, General W. W., 

109 (note) 
Whitaker's Almanack, 220 (note) 
White, Hon. Andrew D., Presi- 
dent American delegation First 
Hague Conference, 94 ; poison 
gases, 95, 97 ; Monroe doctrine, 
98, 99 ; embarrassed by M.'s 
dispassionate logic, 100, 158, 159 
White, Arthur Silva, 216 (note) 
White, Hon. Henry, American 

Embassy, 86, 87, 243 
Whitehead torpedo, 103 (note) 
Whitney, Secretary William C, 
33, 38, 38 (note), 63 



Wiley, Dr. Edwin, x,-35 (note) 
William of Orange, 249 
Williams, Dr. Talcott, 280 
Wilson, General James Grant, 54 
Wilson, President, freedom of the 

seas, 154; question of war, 217 ; 

2i8 ; muzzling order, 275 
Windward Passage, strategic 

value of, 191, 192 ; 211 
Winslow, Admiral Cameron M., 

109 (note) ; on origin of General 

Board, 167, 168 
Wister, Owen, Congress ignorant 

of M., 137 (note) 
Woods, Dr. H. G., President of 

Trinity, Oxford, 66, 67 
World Missionary Conference, 264 
World's Work, 112 
Wren, Sir Christopher, 68 



Yale confers LL.D. on M., 107 
Yates, Captain Arthur, 32 
Yellow Peril, M. warns posterity, 

176 
York, Duke of (afterwards King 

George V), "M. invited to meet, 

62, 72 
Yorktown, 231, 232, 233, 239 
Yucatan Channel, 191 



Zeppelins, M.'s prediction, 214 



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